008
by Dyx42069
Summary: Contrary to its ordinary exterior, Sobu High is governed by a corrupt administration that enforces rigid social stratification. With the desire to rebel, certain individuals enlist the help of Hikigaya Hachiman, an established loner at the bottom of the school caste, to assist The Service Club, a rebel group operating in the shadows. However, Hachiman isn't who they think he is...
1. Chapter 1

**[Hikigaya Hachiman, 1st April (one year ago), 0750 hours]**

Change is a common occurrence in the lives of several, though not always a positive one. The world changes, and individuals change along with it. Be it changing one's mannerisms or way of thinking, many individuals regard embracing change as a positive activity, which is well and good. For what is a person's worth, if not for self improvement?

But most individuals strive to change blindly, striving to improve themselves even without the clear concept of "better" or "worse" in their minds. That is one thing I have never understood. If you are willing to change your behaviour and ideals so easily, doesn't that mean you were never attached to them to begin with? In that case, these portions of your identity were arguably never part of you to begin with, and constantly switching them out for new ones will not help anything.

Humans are detestable, selfish creatures. They can continuously improve and change themselves however they want, but when given half the chance they will not hesitate to reveal the avarice under all their farcical behaviour and betray just how far they are willing to go for the sake of personal benefit. It is with this belief that I shall enter high school, and with this belief that I will graduate from it. Unlike the shallow individuals who use the pretense of changing themselves to mask their genuine, disgusting selves, I will cling on to my ideals as if clinging on to my life.

And the world around me will never change them. In fact, when push comes to shove, my ideals will change the world around me.

I will make sure of that.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 14th May (present day), 1350 hours]**

Hiratsuka-sensei slammed my essay onto her desk, crumpling it by accident. I would have been offended if that essay had taken me more than fifteen minutes to write, but I decided to look offended anyway. Couldn't let my demonic Japanese Literature teacher know that I didn't take her classes seriously, after all.

"...Hikigaya, what is this crap?" queried Hiratsuka-sensei as politely as she could manage. She was probably employing the classic tactic of asking rhetorical questions to dominate the conversation. In all honesty I had no problem with that, except that this meant the conversation would take a while, and I had no intention of letting that happen.

 _Step one, infuriate her by being a smartass._ "An essay, Sensei."

The entire left side of her face twitched, not unlike a stroke patient's. "An essay degrading our school and our education system. Did one of your teachers piss you off or something?"

 _Step two, catch her off guard._ "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

She blinked, evidently shocked. "Wait, really? That's still no excuse to vent your anger on one of _my_ essays, you know. Can't you control your emotions?"

Step three would either be to appeal to her sympathy or go for a personal attack, basically psychological tactics that only work when the target has shown a mental opening. But I would rather be beaten half to death than to be pitied by an old hag.

 _Step three, attack her insecurities!_ "It's one of the burdens of youth. Not that you would understand."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 14th May, 1351 hours]**

I stopped wheezing and got off the floor as Hiratsuka-sensei blew on her fist. Now that the illegal corporate punishment had been dished out, Sensei should be frustrated enough to dismiss me. However, she was looking at me with a contemplative look on her face, which was always a bad sign.

"Mid-life crisis?" I ventured. Another punch to the gut was worth distracting her from whatever heinous scheme she was plotting, I figured.

"Hikigaya, what do you truly think of our school?" she asked, completely disregarding my insult. _She ignored my taunt!_ The very thought of what she could be planning sent a chill down my spine. _Time to get her to calm down..._

"The teachers don't get paid enough... I guess?" Giving politically correct answers is an art that every student must master, but with Hiratsuka-sensei you never know.

"Agreed, but I was asking about the student body. You know, social circles and stuff."

"I wouldn't know. I'm a loner, remember. I refrain from all sorts of social interaction."

Her eyes hardened. "Don't give me that crap, Hikigaya. You don't participate in any social activities, but you observe people a lot, don't you? Give me your honest opinion."

Ah, so it wasn't a rhetorical question. "It's almost dystopian, Sensei."

Hiratsuka-sensei leaned forward and steepled her fingers; evidently this was the answer she was looking for. "How so?"

"It is perfectly normal for social cliques to be formed in a school, forming some sort of caste system. Students segregate each other by factors such as popularity or grades. However in our school, the caste system is a little _too_ well defined. Rather than popularity and grades being the cause of moving up the social ladder, they seem to be the _effects_ of being high up in the school caste."

She leaned forward some more, and I suddenly realised why she called me to the staffroom when there were no other teachers around. "Elaborate."

"I'm saying that this school is rigged. Everything from popularity to grades seems to be determined by which social group you are in."

"So you did notice." Hiratsuka-sensei sighed, leaning back against her chair. "That's right. Apparently the student body has implemented the idea of a caste system in which students at the top reap all the benefits of high school life and everyone else suffers. But not only that. Apparently I heard from one of my other sources that students in the lower groups need a recommendation from students in higher-up groups to rise up the ranks."

"...which leads to unpleasant instances like bribery, right?'

"You catch on quickly. Are you sure this is your first time hearing about this?" She fixed me with an inquisitive stare that was full of intensity.

It was, in fact, my first time hearing an explanation about this system. "I never bothered to look further into it. I don't even know what group I'm in."

"There are five groups in total. Since you're one of the few people who don't care about this system, you're probably in the lowest rank, F."

"That's nice to know."

We stared at each other in awkward silence for about half a minute.

"Hey, Hikigaya. Doesn't it piss you off?"

"Not particularly."

Sensei scoffed. "Don't lie. Why did you write that essay, then?"

"Because it's true. Youth is an illusion, and all those who prescribe to the concept are selfish individuals who would rather engage in fake relationships and lives than face their own ugliness. They-"

"You're bitter."

This sudden statement caught me off guard. "Excuse me?"

"You're full of resentment toward your peers because of what you have seen them doing, right? In your mind, they are weak individuals conforming to the school's warped caste system."

"That's... not particularly..."

"What if I told you that can be changed? I'm on _your_ side, Hikigaya. All we need to do..." she slammed a hand on her desk for emphasis, "is to destroy this rotten system."

I looked up, slightly dazed. In all honesty, this wasn't what I'd expected when Sensei called me to talk to her after school. "Wait. Aren't the teachers part of the system too?"

"Yeah. Their pay comes out of the generous donations by students who wish to rise up the ranks, so they're constantly on the lookout for people who defy the system. I won't deny that this is a dangerous game to play, Hikigaya. But I need your strength."

The teacher sitting before me seemed nothing like her usual self. Gone was the slightly hotheaded Modern Japanese Literature teacher who wore a labcoat to every lesson. This woman had eyes that _burned_.

Genuine, honest-to-God resolution. It had been a long time since I last saw that. Resolution that could topple empires and move mountains.

Resolution that I did not have. With a sense of impending failure, I tried to weasel my way out. "Um, well... I'd love to, but the two of us can't do anything by ourselves..."

"Who said it was the two of us? I have an entire student organisation ready to set this school straight."

An entire student organisation? Rebelling against Sobu High's twisted system? I stood up just a little straighter. "Sensei. Let me join, please."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 14th May, 1400 hours]**

When secretly plotting a large-scale rebellion against a large and powerful organisation, where would be the best place to set up your base of operations? Common sense would dictate either a highly protected area or a place well out of the organisation's reach. However, I had long realised that Hiratsuka-sensei and common sense went together like Japanese Literature and Shounen Manga. So when we stopped in front of a clubroom and she presented it to me with a flourish, I wasn't exactly surprised.

"Of all the places you could have chosen for your base of operations-"

"-But we haven't been discovered yet, have we? Sometimes hiding in plain sight is the best move you can make," she replied, grinning triumphantly. Before I could retort, she slid the door open violently.

I steeled myself internally. Inside this clubroom were the students that were to become my comrades. Highly capable individuals that had the talent to topple an entire school and the resolution to go with it. The team that I would be staking my ideals, my entire existence on. Mentally bracing myself, I peered into the room.

The first thing I saw was a girl. Seated on a chair, with her school bag placed neatly to the side, she was reading a book. Wind from outside entered through the clubroom window and gently tugged at her long, flowing raven-black hair. It was a surreal image, the kind you would usually see in a work of art.

The second thing I saw was...

...well, that was it.

I turned to Hiratsuka-sensei. "Where's your organisation?"

She grinned and spread her arms out. "Behold, the Service Club! A club formed to assist members the student body with their various social issues... well, that's what it is on paper anyway."

The girl, who had been wearing an irritated expression on her face, only found her irritation intensifying as Sensei slung an arm around her shoulder.

"But in actuality," Hiratsuka-sensei continued, trying and failing to imitate the narrator of a Shounen anime, "This club is a secret rebellious organisation, formed with the aim of taking down Sobu High's twisted system!" To top off all her ridiculous antics, she broke out into a wide grin.

The girl sighed in exasperation. "Knock, Sensei. And don't reveal our cause to outsiders so easily. We cannot afford to be caught by the authorities."

Who was this girl? She had good looks and seemingly superior intellect to all the students of our school. She seemed like the type of student who would be extremely popular among her peers. And yet, I had never seen her in any of the popular cliques before.

She turned to me. "You are Hikigaya Hachiman, correct? From Group F."

 _Oh crap, she knows me. How does she know me? How do I tell her that I have absolutely no idea who she is?_

As if reading my mind, she flicked her long black hair in a somewhat smug manner. "My name is Yukinoshita Yukino, from class 2-J. You shouldn't have heard of me, as I am in Group F as well." Wait. Group F? By the look of her dignified posture, she was probably a sheltered daughter from a rich family and could have easily paid her way up the social ladder. Why was she at rock bottom?

 _Oh, right. Rebelling against the system. Completely forgot about that._

Yukinoshita continued, "I memorized the names of all the Group F students for scouting purposes. As individuals who suffer the brunt of the system's backlash, they would be the most suitable as allies. I've had my sights on you for quite a while, Hikigaya-kun."

"I scouted him first!" Hiratsuka-sensei cheered. By silent consensus, we ignored her.

"Yeah... okay. Speaking of allies, how many of those do we have?"

Awkward silence reigned in the classroom for about half a minute, before Yukinoshita broke it with a cough. "The club compromises of two of us, for the moment," she stated with a level of regality you would only find in royalty, as if she had nothing to be bashful about.

To be honest, I should have expected something like this. Why did I believe that there was a rebellious student organisation willing to and capable of revolutionising my beloved school? Because Hiratsuka-sensei said so. In retrospect, that point was where I should have stopped thinking and thrown in the towel.

"I'm going home," I announced to the world in general, before heading for the door. A crushing iron grip landed on my shoulder, appealing to my baser instincts. Against the direction of my mind, my body stayed.

"Oh no, you don't," leered Hiratsuka-sensei. "You agreed to join, remember?"

"I concur," sighed Yukinoshita in the tone of one who clearly wished she didn't. "We cannot guarantee that you will not leak information about us to anyone from Group S."

"I agreed to join a sizeable, revolutionary organisation," I snapped. "And why would anyone from Group S bother to deal with the likes of you? Don't delude yourself. Your 'organisation' is way too insignificant to warrant any attention from a bunch of popular kids with their own statuses to maintain!"

"That would be true, but only if the Group S students were our only enemies," Yukinoshita interpolated. "Even the teachers pose little threat to us. However, I believe that there is a more significant adversary behind this system."

That caught my attention. "A larger enemy? You mean the student council?"

"No, although they are a part of Sobu High's system as well. As you might know, the student council is in charge of school events and club funds, all of which are delegated in a way that favours students at the top. However, don't you find it strange that all its members are only in Group A?"

I had genuinely never thought about this. _Indeed, that would attract quite a bit of suspicion._ "Well, come to think of it..."

"Hikigaya-kun, I believe that there is an individual working behind the scenes. Unlikely as it seems, he may well be manipulating the Group S students, the teachers and the Student Council simultaneously. That person is the source of Sobu High's detestable system, and he is the enemy that we must take down in order to restore our school." Yukinoshita declared.

Frankly speaking, I was dumbfounded to the point of silence. All I could manage was a feeble croak. "A mastermind?"

Yukinoshita straightened abruptly and held her hand out to me. "I have studied you for a while now, Hikigaya-kun. While your the way you do things is... unadvisable, I cannot deny that you have the skillset this organisation needs. Will you lend me your strength?"

I stared at the proffered hand wordlessly, my mind desperately trying to catch up. A mastermind behind the system? She had inferred all of that by herself by simply observing her surroundings? Compared to her, I felt vastly inferior; despite priding myself on my observational skills and having all the time to do so, I had allowed all these things to fly by my head. What was the difference between her and me?

Gazing upwards, I caught a glimpse of the hardened chips of sapphire that were her eyes. Behind a wall of cool collection, her pupils blazed with fiery determination, much like Hiratsuka-sensei's had just minutes prior. Perhaps the answer to my question was not all that difficult to find.

This was what I lacked; the resolution to adhere to my ideals and my warped sense of justice, even if it meant changing the world around me and prevent anyone else from changing it back.

But before venturing into dangerous territory, one must test the waters to see if it is worth his time. I stuck my hands in my pockets and switched to the brutally condescending tone that had made countless individuals fall to their knees in despair.

"What's the point of all this? You're just a little girl playing house. A normality in an environment of abnormalities. All of Sobu High likes this system the way it is, so why shouldn't I feel the same?"

Had she been thrown off by my sudden refusal, or cowed into submission, I would not have been surprised. But the flame in her eyes did not falter.

"Then you will never change anything. And you will never save anyone."

 _It seems I have a lot to learn from this girl._

"Good answer," I replied as I took her hand. And with this, my fate was sealed.

"Welcome to the Service Club, Hikigaya-kun."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 14th May, 1600 hours]**

Indeed, what I have been lacking all this while is resolve. Even though I kept convincing myself before I started high school that I would not give in to my surroundings, I ended up giving in to my own negligence and passivity. For the past year or so, my will to stick to my ideals to the very end has been fading continuously. It's just been so tiring to keep this charade up this whole time...

But now, I have a rival. A girl with determination that far exceeds mine. And assuredly I will not rest until I have pitted my resolve against hers and emerged the victor. Through the pretense of being her only ally, this is my will against hers. My ideals against hers. My _existence_ against hers.

That's right, Sensei. For all your big talk about hiding in plain sight, you're just an amateur, aren't you?

Yukinoshita, you ignorant fool. The mastermind that you're looking for...

...is me.

 **END OF CHAPTER 1**

 **Author's note: This is just a small idea I've been experimenting with. Do you guys think I should continue with it?**


	2. Chapter 2

**[Hikigaya Hachiman, 14th May, 1600 hours]**

It was so simple, much simpler than common sense would dictate. Sobu High was an elite school, with a highly competitive environment, talented students and equally competent staff. For a mere high schooler to exert any sort of significant influence on the student body and the school staff, let alone to take control of it, was simply unthinkable.

Which goes on to show that those with common sense are simply dense. Be it with blackmail, bribery or brainwashing, it is surprisingly easy to control and manipulate people if you pull the right strings and trigger the right emotions. Then through these pawns, control of even more people is then possible. That was how I made my way up the corporate world, Chiba's underground, the education board, then finally Sobu High.

But not for the same shallow personal benefit that members of society strive for, not at all. Personal benefit is irrelevant to a person who is fully satisfied with himself and sees no merit to the act of gain. In fact, it was this valuation of my ideals and personality that inspired me to protect my existence with everything I had. Even if I had to change the world around me in order to do so.

I have never been aware of this, but perhaps all I needed to once again stoke the flames of determination within myself was to find a worthy opponent. For more than an entire year I plowed through the masses, destroying half of the lives I encountered and using the other half as incentives for my pawns. Yet no individual or organisation dared to stand against me, either due to fear of the long arm of my influence or the greed that clouded their hearts.

Who would thought I would encounter such extraordinary individuals in Sobu High, who had the means to thrive under my rule but chose not to, just to live by their ideals. Individuals just like me! Right now I feel like my existence has transcended to a superior plane. Attained a new level of meaning. And my fire of my resolve _burns_.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 15th May, 1301 hours]**

"You're one minute late," Yukinoshita stated coldly, as I quietly shut the clubroom door behind me.

I bit my cheek. "I wasn't aware of a reporting time."

"You do, now. Punctuality is crucial if you want to get anything constructive done. Please refrain from being late in future."

 _Geez, one day in and she's already bossing me around._ "I'll keep that in mind," I replied, suppressing my mild irritation. "What constructive activity will we be doing today, then?"

"A strategy meeting," she declared, standing up with a regal grace that should be humanly impossible. "Time is short, and soon we shall have to face the very first obstacle presented to us by the enemy. Hikigaya-kun, I trust you are aware of the methodology employed by Group S concerning clubs, right?"

 _I implemented them, woman._ One of the Student Council's most famous and unspoken regulations was that all members of a club have to be in the same social group. Several wayward clubs were made an example out of soon after this rule was implemented, especially sports teams who couldn't keep up with the sudden change by switching out their precious members.

Under my supervision, the Group S students would act as buffer to fill in the gaps left by the student council. The most effective way to do so was for one representative from the group to investigate each new club under the pretense of trying to join it. They would quit immediately afterward, of course; couldn't let club time interfere with their other duties to me.

"Yeah, I do," I replied. _So that was what Yukinoshita meant by 'obstacle'. She sure knows how to think ahead, huh._

 _But of course. She wouldn't stand a chance against me otherwise._

"My sources of information have told me that the representative will be coming to visit the clubroom today," Yukinoshita continued. _Sources of information, my ass. She probably just asked Hiratsuka-sensei._ "Her name is Yuigahama Yui. She's an... unusual one."

Ah yes, Yuigahama Yui. Just like how Yukinoshita memorized the profiles of all Group F students, I made it a habit to remember every single one of my subordinates. The Yuigahama family was not a rich one, not by a long shot. The sole child of the family didn't seem to have the desire to strive for academic or career excellence, either. However, without the means or motivation to do well, she somehow managed to claw her way to the top group, stepping on the ranks of quite a few students and leaving behind a group of rejected degenerates in her wake. To put it simply, she was a kind of enigma.

But with reference to the sizeable number of students she trampled on to get to where she was, she seemed to understand the rule of the wild, which I could definitely respect. Those who accept the filthiness in their own hearts and use it as an edge against others are the predators of society, those who encompass the very concept of natural selection. In the outside world, the corporate workplace, or even in a school, the rule of thumb is survival of the fittest, 'fittest' referring to those who can affirm their existence at the cost of others.

Yukinoshita's voice broke me out of my reverie. "Despite the ruthless and bloodthirsty nature of the other Group S students, she is described by her peers as meek and kind hearted in comparison. In fact, I would say she looks out of place among the Group S students." _Idiot. That's obviously just an act to get people to cooperate with her. Even I've used that tactic before, albeit extremely sparingly._

"What," I drawled. "You think she's the mastermind?" Yukinoshita shot me a disapproving glance.

"Use your common sense, Hikigaya-kun. Would a girl with such little capability to influence others be capable of controlling an entire school?"

"Common sense is overrated," I retorted. "Besides, she'd be my first guess for the mastermind exactly because of her unassuming nature. If it's not her, who do _you_ think it is?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she scoffed. "We're talking about a person with great charisma and intellect. Who else could it be than the head of Group S himself?"

Ah, she was referring to Hayama Hayato, from class 2-E. Known as the most popular boy on campus, he was the captain of the soccer team and was the idol of approximately ninety percent of the entire school. He was, of course, also the mastermind's sole point of contact with Group S and one of my most useful subordinates.

"...wouldn't that be a bit too obvious?"

"Is there a problem with that? Flaunting his power to all those he rules over would suit his personality perfectly. Without a doubt, Hayama Hayato is our enemy, Hikigaya-kun."

Brilliant as Yukinoshita was, it appeared she was too blinded by her hatred for Hayama to consider the possibility that he might be a puppet leader. _If you'd inspected him a little closer, you might realise that he spends an awful lot of time contacting someone else whose identity he refuses to divulge to anyone, even to those within Group S. But then again, Hayama has always been extremely talented at hiding things from others._

"So, what're we gonna do about this girl?" Honestly speaking, as a leader who thought of all plans by himself and only communicated with his subordinates to give orders, the concept of strategy meetings was new to me. What did Yukinoshita plan on doing?

Yukinoshita inhaled. In the light of the afternoon sun, the determination on her face was apparent. Then her eyes hardened with a sudden malice that surprised even me. "We dispose of her."

"...hang on. That sounds like a crime."

The menacing look in her eyes vanished as quickly as it came. "My apologies. I got carried away by my thoughts." _What the hell? How far does her hatred for the system go?_ "We will convince her that we are a completely normal club, of course."

"And why do we need a strategy meeting for that?"

"Because we cannot afford to give the enemy too many openings," Yukinoshita insisted. "As a club formed with the idea of helping members of the student body, we will come into contact with problems that heavily involve social groups."

"And the point of having this meeting is...?"

"We need to show Yuigahama-san that we can handle such problems with tact that does not contradict the unreasonable regulations set by the student council and her superior."

"Meeting. Purpose. What?"

"After reading the enemy's moves, I have come to the conclusion that Yuigahama-san will be presenting us with a request herself. We need to prepare for that, hence this meeting."

"Finally. I'm proud of you, Yukinoshita."

She shot me a dirty glare. "Do you have anything useful to contribute to this meeting, Hikigaya-kun?"

"What, you want me to guess what her request will be about? Probably something regarding guy trouble. Those are always the hardest to crack."

"Take this seriously, Hikigaya-kun. There is no way that she won't give us a request that involves the school's legislation, so as to make us attempt the impossible. She means to destroy this club, Hikigaya-kun."

 _I've ignored this for a while, but what's with that honorific? We don't even know each other that well._ Aloud, I said "Well, say she comes up with a totally unreasonable request. What're you gonna do about it, then?"

Thick silence reigned in the club for about two minutes. Then Yukinoshita, who would probably rather die than admit to making an oversight, said "That is what this meeting is for. I was hoping you could use your brilliant skeptical outlook to think of something."

 _Nice try at flattery. You really hit all the right spots there. But it's not gonna work._ "I've got nothing. Let's just go with the guy stuff, shall we?"

Of course, in the worst case scenario, I could use my extensive connections to cover up evidence that anything regarding an unreasonable request was wiped out of existence, and ensure that Yuigahama Yui was wiped off the face of the school. This obstacle presented no threat to me whatsoever, but it would be enlightening to see Yukinoshita in action. To do that, I had to ensure that Yukinoshita would be in a calm, rational state.

Apparently appeased, Yukinoshita heaved a resigned sigh and sat back down. "We can only hope so, Hikigaya-kun. If we cannot even overcome this first challenge, we are definitely not prepared for the obstacles ahead of us, not to mention the mastermind."

 _That's right,_ I crowed inwardly. _Show me that you are worthy of being my adversary, Yukinoshita Yukino!_

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 15th May, 1330 hours]**

Yuigahama Yui shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Perhaps it had something to do with the vengeful demon that was staring at her from the other side of the table. I sighed: this was going to be a long day.

"Welcome to the service club, Yuigahama-san. I assume you have a request for us?" The arrangement we had hastily decided on was that Yukinoshita would handle all the talking, and that I would stop her if she slipped up. Fine by me; it gave me more opportunities to analyse Yukinoshita's strategies and her way of thinking.

Yuigahama seemed startled, apparently she hadn't expected the demon to speak. "U-um, yes! But not just that. Actually, I've been pretty interested in joining this club..."

This was the standard statement that all Group S students gave when they performed their club inspections. They never actually joined the club after their rounds were done, but the sole lucky exception was Hayama with the soccer club, which I allowed to happen to promote trust between Group S and the rest of the student body. So long as there was a precedent, there would be a chance that the phenomenon of a club's Group S inspector joining the club, hence clubs would cooperate fully with their respective inspectors in the hopes of earning a promotion.

Funny how a simple statement can change the stance of the masses. Some people are just too easy to manipulate.

But Yukinoshita did not find this funny, as could be seen from the narrowing of her blue eyes. "Yuigahama-san, you are fooling nobody here. I would advise that you... ow!"

She glowered at me and I stared back. "Just doing my job," I drawled, withdrawing my foot from her shin under the table.

Yuigahama laughed nervously, like a person who rolled off a cliff while taking a nap and woke up inches before hitting the ground. "A-anyway, I have a request for the club! Are you guys supposed to help me out with it... or something?"

Yukinoshita composed herself. "The service club does not solve problems for you. We simply give you the ability to deal with it by yourself."

Interesting. So Yukinoshita believed that humans possess the capability and ability to solve the problems that they created. That people with the will to change the world around them simply need a small push to achieve their goals.

How naive.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Yuigahama forced out a laugh. "Y-yeah! Um, well... see, there's this guy..." With the loud clatter of a chair making contact with the ground, her brave step into the unknown was interrupted.

"What," snarled Yukinoshita. "Don't fool around with us! I was banking on the fact that you would give us a completely unreasonable task that would leave us with no choice but to... ow!"

She picked up her chair. I tucked my leg back in and smirked. "Told you it was guy trouble."

The Ice Queen shot me an intense glare, massaged her leg and began her retort with "I absolutely refuse to believe-" before her baser instincts made her cease talking and clutch her shin protectively.

I grinned inwardly. Manipulating people had become a sort of normality in my trade after a while, but subduing people by force had never really been my thing. Was this how Hiratsuka-sensei felt all the time?

Yuigahama's face was pale at this point, as she had probably realised that this was no ordinary club. No doubt, she was seriously considering the simplest course of action, that being giving up on the spot and arranging for the club to be disbanded. Nonetheless, to her credit, she pressed on. "Um, so about this boy... I was thinking of some way to show some sort of appreciation to him..."

"What for?" asked Yukinoshita, genuinely confused. "He hasn't done anything to merit your gratitude."

"I-it's none of your business!" Yuigahama burst out, face crimson. "I-I just wanna do it, okay?" _She seems embarrassed... mortified to the point of breaking her 'cool and kindhearted' facade. What's going on?_

It was at that moment that I considered a previously unforeseen possibility. Sure, Yuigahama was definitely assessing our capability and legitimacy as a club, but could it be that the request she presented was genuine? Would that mean that she would leave us alone once we satisfied her?

"Right," I interjected before Yukinoshita could ruin our chances any further. "Do you want us to help you think of ideas, or do you have something in mind for this precious person of yours?"

For some reason, that only served to make her even more flustered. Pointedly turning her gaze to the ground but occasionally sneaking glances at me, she mumbled a "I-It's not like he's my precious person or anything, he just kinda helped me out and I wanna thank him, that's all..."

 _Oi_ , _I'm_ _trying to be the voice of reason here and she's ignoring my efforts?_ I suppressed a sigh. It seemed that this girl would require tact and patience in spadefuls to deal with. And, as luck would have it, Yukinoshita was currently lacking in both.

"If you have nothing constructive to say, Yuigahama-san, I would advise you to get... ow!"

"Don't give up so easily," I snipped, retracting my offensive limb. My patience was fraying at the edges; normally, if a person or subordinate pissed me off this much, he would find himself stripped of his status, education and future career options. This person would essentially deprived of his life; I Iiked to think of it as natural selection. However, this wasn't an option here.

I inhaled.

"Yuigahama Yui. You are an individual who likes to go with the flow, yet who understands the merits of acting ahead of the curve and setting trends. Given that Valentine's Day has passed just months ago, you have decided to take advantage of the fact that the festive mood has yet to fade by presenting this male students with chocolates. Yet you don't want him to feel like you're spending effort and money on him, hence appearing as clingy, so you intend for the chocolates to be handmade, probably in the form of cookies for the homely feel. As such, there is no other logical possibility except for your request to be for the Service Club to teach you how to make these chocolate cookies. Am I right?"

She stared at me in shock, and for reasons I couldn't comprehend, her cheeks brightened further. Then she hastily averted her gaze from mine. "Yes, you are. Um... was it that obvious?"

I exhaled. "Nah, just a lucky guess."

Yukinoshita, too, was staring at me with what could be called abject admiration. _What? Unlike certain people I know, I'm capable of observing students that are not from Group S._

Admittedly, I hadn't used my 'predictive analysis' skill (rated 36 out of all my 108 skills) in a long time, so it was somewhat rusty. But the conversation had been moving too slowly for my liking, and I was willing to reveal one of the cards in my hand to Yukinoshita in order to move things along.

Or perhaps that had been Yukinoshita's plan all along. Was this woman's resolve so great that she would even observe her own allies under the pretense of possible betrayal from them? I had picked a truly terrifying opponent. _Looks like I'll have to tread carefully, now..._

Yukinoshita stood up with as much dignity as she could muster, and effortlessly took back the initiative. "I'll ask Sensei for the keys to the Home Econs classroom."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 15th May, 1500 hours]**

Yukinoshita stared in dismay at the black lumps that weren't so much cookies as they were plant food. "Didn't I tell you to shorten the baking time?"

"You're looking at the previous batch, Yukinoshita-san!" protested Yuigahama, sliding another plate across the table. "This is the newest batch."

To her credit, the newest batch of cookies actually looked brown until they oxidised five seconds later. Yukinoshita stared in despair as the abominations reacted with something in the air to crystallise into a solid resembling Copper(II) Sulphate. Then something in her snapped.

"That's it," she hissed, drawing herself to her full height. "You're doing this on purpose to impede our progress! Hikigaya-kun, use the thing I gave y... ow!"

Against her will, she whimpered and sunk to her knees, pitifully clutching her shin. Against my will, I noted that her slight pout and the small tears gathering at the corners of her eyes made her look somewhat endearing. Like a kitten. I mentally kicked myself.

At the very least, Yuigahama had the decency to look bashful. "Sorry. I'm not very good at cooking. Maybe I should give up, after all..."

This piqued my interest. "You're using coercion?"

She looked genuinely stunned, but only for a moment. "What... no, not at all! I'll approve your club, of course... wait, how did you know about that? You're not from Group S!"

"Don't worry about it," I drawled. "You sure you wanna give up, though? We can still keep going."

It was a pity, but it seemed that I would not be able to see Yukinoshita in action today, not even the extent of her resolve. _Welp, guess I'll have to figure out how to break her some other day, then._

"It's fine," Yuigahama mumbled, casting her eyes downward. "I know I don't have the talent for cooking, so there's no point in trying more. Thanks for your help today! I'll make sure my friends don't ever bother you again..."

"No." Two heads snapped up in shock as Yukinoshita got back up, a flame burning in her cerulean eyes. Yukinoshita, who had been so eager to get Yuigahama out of her hair earlier, was now refusing to let her leave? And the look in those eyes... hope and adrenaline coursed through my system.

"By my pride as the president of the Service Club, you will not leave this room until you are satisfied with your cookies," Yukinoshita declared, slamming the next batch of batter on the table. "Those without the will to see their ambitions through until the end have no right to blame their lack of effort on being untalented. If you want to give up on baking, Yuigahama-san, I would advise that you actually start putting your back into it."

Yuigahama looked up in astonishment. "You're, like, the first person to ever say that to me. And no other club has ever refused approval before..."

"Those are irrelevant," Yukinoshita snapped, shoving all the ingredients in Yuigahama's direction. "Right now, your attitude annoys me to the extreme. Now listen to me and follow my instructions to the letter, because I'll only say them once."

Alight with newfound determination, Yuigahama saluted. "Yes, Ma'am!"

It was at that moment when I began to see that Yukinoshita's strength didn't lie in good planning and social skills, but in the way she strengthened others with her own resolve, a feat I would never be able to achieve. Watching Yuigahama mix the batter with gusto, I realised that if there was anything that would bring the request of making proper chocolate cookies to fruition, it would be this strength.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 15th May, 1530 hours]**

Carefully, Yuigahama carried the perfect-looking cookies from inside the oven. Almost immediately, they fully combusted and partially evaporated, leaving behind a mass of black lumps in their wake.

 _...is it just me, or did nothing change?_

Yukinoshita sighed in exasperation. "Another failure? But I ensured that you followed the proper procedure..." Beside her, Yuigahama laughed bashfully.

To say I was disappointed was an understatement. Here I was, making monologues about how Yukinoshita's resolve was strong enough to inspire the people around her, and as it turned out this strength couldn't even improve a plate of cookies.

"Maybe I'll get something else for him, after all," Yuigahama laughed nervously. "But I had fun trying! Thanks, both of you."

 _Having fun doesn't cut it, foolish girl. I bet you would have prepared those cookies well enough if your family's lives were on the line!_

Overall, it seemed that this request would end uneventfully, as would the Service Club's first obstacle. At this rate, I wouldn't be able to prove my will as superior to Yukinoshita's and completely break her... _maybe I should just arrange for the club to be disbanded and be done with it._

At that exact moment, my senses tingled. Seconds later, heavy footsteps thudded outside the classroom door.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 15th May, 1545 hours]**

I cursed inwardly when I heard the security guards approach the classroom door. I had been expecting them to arrive eventually, but I had gotten carried away with teaching Yuigahama-san and had disregarded the time.

The door slammed open. Hikigaya-kun and Yuigahama-san gaped in shock at the three burly men in the doorway.

"Oi, you guys!" roared the one in front. "What're you doing here? It's way past school hours!"

"We've got permission-" began Hikigaya-kun, before his face turned pale as the realisation hit him. He turned to me. "Wait a sec. We aren't allowed to use this room after school. It's in the rules. How'd you get authorisation?"

"I did not. I simply got the keys from Sensei," I replied, watching Yuigahama-san's face grow white with realisation. "For completing the request, it was a small price to pay."

"You _idiot,_ " hissed Hikigaya-kun as the burliest guard tilted his head, puzzled.

"I dunno what's going on, but you kids are in _big_ trouble," he snarled. His two lackeys sidled up beside him in an attempt to look imposing. Hikigaya-kun's hand slid into his pocket.

The head guard moved forward, so I drove my fist into his solar plexus and flipped him over my back. Then all hell broke loose.

His lackeys were harder to subdue; fighting two individuals is exponentially harder than one. Aiming a kick at one's knee to restrict his movement, I laid out a series of punches into the other's stomach. After dodging a punch from the first guard, I then struck the temple of the second and twisted around to knock both their heads together. No sooner had their unconscious bodies hit the floor did a pair of meaty hands clamp around my throat.

"You little bitch," the head guard snarled, squeezing tighter for emphasis. "I'll report you after you're dead!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yuigahama-san cowering against the wall, not that I could blame her. Black spots clouded my vision. Hikigaya-kun was... was...

Right behind the guard. It may be hard to express this in words, but the term "teleportation" may be apt. One moment he was standing behind Yuigahama-san, and the next moment he wasn't. Pressing the cloth soaked in chloroform that I had given him earlier (as a last resort to be used on Yuigahama-san), he watched impassively as the guard slumped onto the floor. Then he stood up straight and dusted his shirt off while I caught my breath on the ground.

"The other two were actual security guards, but that guy was from the mafia," he stated calmly. "Your weak hits wouldn't have floored him so easily."

Amidst my hazy mental field, this caught my full attention. "Our school hired mafia members as security guards?"

"Yeah. They work for free, after all." Hikigaya-kun looked away, as if he had divulged information that shouldn't have been mentioned. This was correct, in a sense; even with all my research, I had not discovered this fact. Perhaps whoever ran Sobu High was a better opponent than I had expected.

"Hikigaya-kun. May I ask how you obtained this information?"

He stared at me, a pair of dead-fish eyes seeming to drill a hole into my skull with their gaze. "I have sources too, y'know."

"And that physical capability?"

"Stuff happens," he grunted. I had a feeling that this was all I would get out of him.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 15th May, 1550 hours]**

"That should be okay," I announced, dragging the bodies of the unconscious security guards and depositing them outside the classroom. "They won't remember anything when they wake up."

Except that damn thug, of course; mafia members were hardier than that. What was he thinking, waltzing around like he could do as he pleased just because he wasn't getting paid? I would be having a nice long chat with his gang's Don later, I inwardly decided.

But then again, Yukinoshita was clearly to blame for this mishap. Was her resolve to fulfil Yuigahama's request so strong that she would blatantly break school rules and risk blowing her cover to achieve just that? And to think that she was this skilled at hand-to-hand combat... it appeared that I had underestimated her again.

Not to mention I had gotten her suspicions up; the 'shadow step' (skill 74 out of 108) was a move only used in Chiba's underground world to take potential assaulters by surprise, and there was no possible way that a normal high schooler should get close to learning it. Now I'd have to think of a cover story that involved a tragic childhood and lots of gang fights. How troublesome.

My train of thought was broken as Yuigahama detached herself from the wall, face still displaying a deathly pallor. Her legs eventually gave up and she crumpled to the ground in a state of shock. "W-Wha... that was... what was that?"

"Hikigaya-kun. Much as I do not wish to harm the well-being of a fellow student, it appears you will have to put her to sleep as well," said Yukinoshita, procuring a first-aid kit from her schoolbag and tending to her own wounds. _What the hell? Just how prepared are you? And don't just casually ask me to incapacitate a classmate!_

But as things were, I had no choice but to do so. Of course, I could keep her silent through Hayama with the authority I had, but that would only serve to heighten Yukinoshita's suspicion of me. At the very least, I would have to knock her out as well to give Yukinoshita and Sensei a logical explanation for her silence.

 _Either way_ , I thought as I slipped my hand into my pocket. _You're doomed, Yuigahama. Sorry about this, but you're just a stepping stone among many to bring out the full potential of my greatest enemy._

Suddenly, at the worst possible moment, Yuigahama snapped out of her trance. "Yukinoshita-san, Hikigaya-san! What's going on?"

I paused, and Yukinoshita's head snapped up in shock. Now that Yuigahama was lucid, making her lose her memory would be considerably harder. Maybe with a concussion...

"Yukinoshita, hold her still. I'll find a heavy object."

"Alright."

"Wait a sec! This... this isn't an ordinary club, is it?" Faced with this sudden accusation from her, I paused, the wooden spoon (it was the heaviest object I could find) still in my hand. "You guys know how we run the school's system and stuff that only Group S students are supposed to know... and, and those fighting movements! You guys aren't, like, normal students at all!"

The silence between us thickened.

"...Right. Looks like I'll have to hit her a little harder."

"I have a taser in my bag as well. We should apply it to her cerebellum while she's unconscious," Yukinoshita suggested, tightening her grip around Yuigahama's abdomen. Sensing her impending doom, Yuigahama tried to struggle free, but to no avail.

My grip tightened around the wooden spoon. I clenched my teeth and lifted it up, focussing all of my arm's strength on the pivotal muscles...

"Wait! You're misunderstanding me! I'm not gonna report you, I want to join!"

My arm froze. So did Yukinoshita's.

"Excuse me?" hissed Yukinoshita. "Saying unnecessary things to delay the inevitable is distasteful."

"I mean it!" shouted Yuigahama. "You guys actually want to take down the person behind the school system, don't you? Honestly, I had my suspicions about this club, so I asked Hayato-kun to let me be the one to inspect it... anyway, I want to help you!"

Yukinoshita and I glanced at each other.

"...You do realise that you'll be helping us fight your precious Hayato-kun, right?" I asked out loud. Inside, I was simmering with rage. Who did this person think she was, barging in on my duel with Yukinoshita and imposing her weak will on us? How could she help us topple the system if she was enjoying its benefits each day?

"Hayato-kun is not like that!" Yuigahama shouted. "All people are good people underneath! Even the mastermind behind Sobu High's system! Hayato-kun may be a little... flashy, but he would never twist people to his will like that! He's taking orders from another person, I just know it! And I'm gonna make that person take down his rotten system!"

"Your sense of justice is commendable," snorted Yukinoshita, "but you seem to lack resolve. If Hayama Hayato is not our opponent, then it is one of your other friends from Group S who is pulling the strings behind this system. Knowing that, are you still willing to fight with us?"

"I am," answered Yuigahama without hesitation. I squinted at her expression; faint as it was, the fire of resolve was undeniably burning in her eyes. "Even if you don't accept me, I'll continue to fight in my own way, because that's what I climbed up the system to do. Please, let me join the Service Club!"

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 15th May, 1600 hours]**

"Are you sure about this?" I whispered to Yukinoshita. Yuigahama had gone home for the day, leaving both of us to erase the evidence that we were ever in the Home Econs classroom.

"Not at all. However, she knows about Service Club's true colours now, so it will be unwise to leave her unsupervised. We must not let our guard down, Hikigaya-kun."

I grunted.

"She is in an optimal position to act as a double agent, so I will need you to keep an eye on her at all times."

I grunted again.

"Besides, I doubt that she truly wants to fight for our cause. To me, it seemed that she lacked resolution. Hikigaya-kun? Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." I disagreed with Yukinoshita's last statement, but wisely kept it to myself.

' _All people are good people underneath', huh..._ Despite her clear ideals and beliefs, this girl was willing to infringe on them and trample several lives underfoot to get to the top of the social ladder and fight against me in her own way. A person willing to betray her ideals for the sake of adhering to them... I had never encountered such warped resolution before.

Yukinoshita smiled. "That rounds up our club activities for today, I suppose. Several things happened, but we managed to overcome the club's first obstacle. Good work."

With that, she strode away. Although she was clearly trying to hide it, I caught a glimpse of a worried frown on her face.

I stood in the middle of the corridor in silence, amidst the warm orange light of the setting sun.

 _...what the hell._

I had it all planned out! This was supposed to be _my_ duel with Yukinoshita. _My_ will against hers. And yet before I could figure out how to make her give in to me, an unexpected element was thrown into the mix.

And to top it off, this unexpected factor was a defecting member of my most trusted lackeys. Not that I actually trusted them, but students in Group S would usually have enough incentive to stay loyal to the system. With that in mind, I usually let Hayama do the trusting.

Speaking of which... I whipped out my phone and furiously punched in a number. Hayama picked up on the first ring.

"Boss? What's the ma-"

"Your friends are stupid," I snapped. "Watch over them better."

I could almost feel his hesitant caution over the line. "I'll keep them under wraps from now on. Did one of them do something to you?"

Rage coursed through my veins. I opened my mouth, ready to spill everything concerning the Service Club and Yuigahama's defection. The secretly rebellious organisation that I had joined just a day ago was just a few commands away from destruction...

I stopped myself. That wouldn't do.

"I have no obligation to tell you. Just do your damn job," I snipped, ending the call before Hayama could reply.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 15th May, 1600 hours]**

I could destroy this pathetic club in seconds, but I won't. Those two ignorant fools who had the gall to oppose my supreme rule don't deserve such an easy fate. Besides, it won't be a fair fight if one side crushes the other at once with overwhelming might; to solidify my existence and make an example out of these two, I need to completely bring their ideals to dust. I need to make them fall to their knees and beg for mercy. I need to make them realise how filthy humans truly are.

Yukinoshita Yukino, the cold yet capable girl who segregated herself from my system and started an undercover rebellion just to take me down. I'll make her taste defeat like never before and take pleasure in breaking her resolve.

Yuigahama Yui, the kind yet merciless girl who devastated various lives and went back on her ideals just to get closer to the top in order to take me down. I'll put all of her efforts to waste and make her suffer the guilt of futilely trampling the people around her for the rest of her life.

And what better way to do this is there, than to make them conform to the very system they have decided to fight?

Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, you can feel free to spout whatever brave words and empty ideals however much you want. At the end of it all, when we graduate from high school, I will make you look back on all the time you spent here, and how little you truly accomplished with resolve inferior to mine!

Try to change my ideals, my beliefs, my existence; try to change _me_ , and you will pay the price for it. No matter how many strategy meetings you have, no matter times you proclaim your noble cause, you will live a normal high school life.

I will make sure of that.

 **END OF CHAPTER 2**

 **Author's note: Thanks for all your support on the first chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**[Hikigaya Hachiman, 26th May, 0900 hours]**

In order to beat a person at their own game and make them beg for mercy, you must aim for a frontal attack and take them by surprise by succeeding. That is, by attacking the area they take pride in the most.

For Yukinoshita, this area was her in-depth analysis and trust of the Group F students. If I wanted to make life difficult for the Service Club, I would need to utilise someone from the bottom of the social ladder. However, Group F students were already suffering the burden of being at the bottom and hence had little incentive to cooperate with anyone who called the shots concerning Sobu High's system. (Naturally, this was one of the key reasons for Yukinoshita's trust in them.) Bribing them with a promotion wouldn't do either; Yukinoshita's suspicions would definitely be raised if all the people who got involved with the Service Club mysteriously managed to rise up the ranks right afterward.

'Little' incentive doesn't exactly equate to 'None', though.

My search for the individual who would give the Service Club the hardest time possible had finally borne fruit. Group F students were generally battle-hardened and tough enough to disregard any social incentive, but after studying this particular individual for a week, I had decided that he was a cut below the rest. My target was at the library as usual, wearing a trench coat and goggles for reasons unknown. I approached him.

"Do I have the pleasure of addressing Zaimokuza Yoshiteru-sama?"

He gaped at me for a moment. This was possibly the first time a normal person had addressed him in such a respectful and downright weird fashion. It didn't take long for him to recover, though. Standing up abruptly, he flung out a gloved hand. "Indeed! It is I, the Blade Emperor Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, who has received your courteous address! Dost thou have business with my magnificent self?"

 _Contact has been a success, thankfully._ Interaction with those who suffered from Chuunibyou had always been low on my priority list, but for the sake of toppling the Service Club, I would gladly sacrifice half my sanity in this first meeting.

"My name is Hikigaya Hachiman. You aspire to be a successful Light Novel author, correct? In fact, my sources tell me that you already have a novel in the works. But did you know that the Light Novel industry is extremely competitive, and only about 2 percent of authors make it big? You'll need some outside influence if you want your novel to make an impact."

He went back to gaping. "How could you possibly know about that? I do not recall telling anyone about my grand ambition." But in an instant, shock turned into grandeur and all traces of suspicion vanished. "But never mind that. You are most right; I plan to make a light novel, and it _will_ be successful, with or without your assistance!"

 _Time to change tracks._ "But can you afford the publishing fee?"

He paused. "What is this... fee that you speak of?"

 _Bullseye._ "Widescale publishing is an expensive affair, y'know. You have to hire an editor, pay publishing companies to print copies of your Light Novel, so on and so forth."

Zaimokuza stared at me, the blood slowly draining from his face. His sweating intensified and became more apparent, dripping onto the clean library floor. "That... is an issue. Yes, an issue, indeed."

"Well, don't worry," I assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder for emphasis. It came back slick with sweat, and I repressed a shudder. Forcing a grin onto my face, I said "That's what I'm here for!"

He looked up at me, in the way a drowning man would look at a cruise liner. "You will help me get my novel published?"

 _All according to plan._ I forced down the smirk that threatened to express itself on my traitorous facial muscles.

"Not only that, I'll even make sure people read it. You'll be the talk of Chiba's literary community in no time at all!" These were not empty promises; forcing hundreds of people to read a stupid book was well within my capabilities and my connections.

Evidently Zaimokuza had trouble believing this. "Impossible. Simply impossible. I, the great Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, sincerely doubt that any one man could possibly have influence that surpasses that of the Tokugawa Shogunate!"

Such a reaction was understandable, but I had come prepared. I smirked. "Believe what you want, but give me one hour, and I will demonstrate the extent of my power to you."

He looked somewhat baffled. "One hour?"

"One hour. I'll need a copy of your manuscript, though."

From the depths of his trench coat, he produced a thick bundle. "Very well. I shall believe your words for now. But I cannot imagine that you wish to help me without gaining anything in return."

I smiled. _So he's not completely stupid, after all._ "Very astute," I remarked. "I need you to do a little something for me."

"Ask, and you shall receive!" he boasted. "No feat is too small for my glorious self!"

"It's about this little club that I'm a part of," I said, idly flipping through the manuscript and trying not to cringe at the poor writing quality. "We're supposed to help out members of the student body, but we haven't gotten a single request yet. I'd like you to make our first."

"That does not sound too challenging," mused Zaimokuza. "But what should my request be of?"

I had not thought this far, but upon seeing the contents of his manuscript I had a burst of inspiration. "Easy. You can ask us to review your... ahem, literary masterpiece."

"An excellent idea!" he exclaimed. "Very well. Is there anything else?"

"Yeah. Make our lives as miserable as possible."

He cocked his head and stared at me for about five seconds or so. "...I, the great Sword Emperor Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, have no comment."

"Wise choice. Do we have a deal?"

We shook hands, and he said "Keep in mind, Hikigaya Hachiman, that you have not fully earned my trust. You will keep your end of the deal and show me your power in an hour's time, correct?"

"Yeah. Less than that, actually."

"Very well. Just a small query, but what would you have done if I hadn't brought my manuscript along with me today?"

I grinned, and he shrank back instinctively at the gleeful malice that had forced its way into my eyes before I could control myself. "What are you talking about? You always bring your manuscript with you."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 26th May, 1000 hours]**

"Well... I don't know how to put this," said Hiratsuka-sensei, looking extremely confused. The entire class fell silent; you knew something was wrong if Hiratsuka-sensei was confused.

"Apparently the Literature Department has given us an emergency order to stop studying our current text and switch to a new one. I've got a few copies here with me, so share them among yourselves." She handed them out to Hayama (who was the class representative, unsurprisingly) and he distributed them accordingly.

"Sensei," said Yuigahama, tentatively raising her hand. "Sharing texts with someone else is kinda troublesome... can we buy copies of this text in bookstores?"

"I dunno," replied Hiratsuka-sensei, looking more baffled by the minute. "The literature department said this text isn't being sold in stores yet."

Hayama squinted at his copy and frowned. "A Light Novel? Are you sure this isn't some sort of mistake, Sensei?"

"I don't know, okay?" barked a defensive Hiratsuka-sensei who had decided to translate her confusion into rage. "I got this directive half an hour ago! Even the printing crew started printing these manuscripts less than an hour ago, and they had to set aside all other operations to get it done!" She snarled with the frustration of a woman whose career had just been changed entirely, which honestly was not far from the truth. "Something's fishy about this, and I... something wrong, Yoshiteru?"

The cause for her concern was the audible gasp that had come from the back of the classroom. Under several questioning stares, Zaimokuza wilted. "N-no, nothing is wrong. It's just... just... this manuscript is my... no. Nothing at all!"

His face gradually paled as he gradually grew aware of just who he was dealing with.

I smiled.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 26th May, 1300 hours]**

"You've been getting increasingly punctual as of late," Yukinoshita admitted grudgingly as I closed the clubroom door. "My thanks for allowing me to conduct club activities more efficiently, although we have had none to speak of."

"Don't mention it," I grunted, pointedly keeping the gleeful anticipation out of my voice. _Don't worry, we'll be having some really interesting club activities soon. So interesting, in fact, that you'll regret forming this club to begin with._ "How about Yuigahama, though? She's not here yet."

"That's for the best," scoffed Yukinoshita. "The less she hears about our plans, the better."

I tilted my head in puzzlement, trying to emulate my younger sister but probably looking like an ostrich instead. "Isn't she a part of the club as well? I mean, she wouldn't have gone through all the trouble to join the club if all she wanted was to destroy us. It's common sense."

"How naive, Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita sighed. "Do you really think common sense would apply to a maniac who gained control of an entire school and established a social system with the intent of making students tear each other apart? To a rotten individual like him, common sense is but a shallow concept."

 _You really hit the nail on the head there._ "So you think the mastermind sent Yuigahama here as a sort of mole in our organisation? That's fine, but what do you think she's actually supposed to do?"

"Divide and conquer, I suppose. If I were the mastermind, I would strive to break up the club by means of internal strife, breaking its members' resolve and increasing the chance of them integrating the school system afterwards."

 _Right again._ I was beginning to get impressed.

Yukinoshita was truly an exceptionally perceptive person. If her hatred of the upper echelons of campus society didn't blind her judgement so much, she would have found me out a long time ago. At any rate, I could turn this into an advantage. Unknowingly, by suspecting Yuigahama's loyalty to the club, Yukinoshita had started to accelerate the 'divide and conquer' bit of my plan quite nicely all by herself.

I would love to say that I orchestrated all of this myself, but that would be a gross exaggeration. _I'd better start making my move; it'd be a real pity if the club were to disband without my interference._

The sliding door burst open in a way that was very impressive for a sliding door.

"Yahallo!" Yuigahama greeted, with the brightest smile I had ever seen.

 _How fake._ It took me a few seconds to formulate this thought and a few more to realise Yukinoshita had voiced my thought out loud. Without a morsel of shame, Yukinoshita continued: "There is no need to act like the way you do with your friends, Yuigahama-san. Especially since you're backstabbing them by simply being here." _Just a simple 'you're not needed here, go away ' would have been enough, y'know._

 _Man, this 'divide and conquer' thing is going much faster than I thought. Still, that was completely heartless. Even by my standards._ This routine had been going on for the past week; Yuigahama would report a few minutes late (not that being punctual would improve Yukinoshita's opinion of her) and Yukinoshita would proceed to put her icy-sharp tongue to use, leaving a crushed Yuigahama to reconsider how to earn her trust.

Yuigahama laughed nervously, eyes frozen in a state of horror and hurt. It was painful to watch. Then she broke off the metaphorical layer of ice that had seemed to encompass her entire being and laughed again, a little less nervously. "Um... well, are we having any club activities today?"

"None in particular," Yukinoshita replied, turning her gaze back to her book. _Damn, women are scary. I'm not sure if I can hold down the fort for much longer..._

At that moment there was a knock on the door, followed by a loud exclamation "It is I, the great Sword Emperor Zaimokuza Yoshiteru! You require my ser... wait, that's not right. I humbly request your servitu... service!"

Sensing the overbearing presence behind the clubroom's sliding door, I couldn't help but grin. _Ah, reinforcements._

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 26th May, 1325 hours]**

The frightfully obese boy sat on his chair, making a mess on the clubroom floor with his perspiration. Despite my delight at the club getting our first client (that wasn't a backstabbing double agent), great irritation stemmed from the fact that I had just cleaned the floor one day prior.

"What you just said," I reiterated, "is that Zaimokuza Yoshiteru-kun suffers from a condition called Chuunibyou, causing him to act the part of a persona more grandeur than he actually is in reality?"

"I'm surprised you didn't know that," Hikigaya-kun says, staring at me out of the corner of his right eye. "Didn't you do thorough research on all the students of Group F?"

To be honest, that statement was an exaggeration. When scouting for potential candidates to join the Service Club, I had immediately ceased investigation on individuals who were not likely to join, and the sweating mess in front of me was one of them.

To be completely honest, my scouting had mostly comprised investigating Hikigaya Hachiman. It would be prudent not to let him know this, however.

"All I knew was of Zaimokuza-kun's strange behaviour," I replied. "I didn't bother to figure out its cause." That answer seemed to satisfy him, but now it was my turn. "Incidentally, Hikigaya-kun, I noticed Zaimokuza-kun has been giving you nervous glances for the past five minutes. Could it be that both of you are acquainted?"

Any sign of surprise would have been a dead giveaway, and keeping his face completely neutral would have been an indication in itself. Hence, Hikigaya-kun made sure that his face betrayed just the right amount of shock. _So he is capable of controlling his facial expressions to a disturbing degree. If not for the sweating mess betraying his own uneasiness in such obvious fashion, Hikigaya-kun would have fooled me._

Said sweating mass had let out a squeak and had thrown one last nervous glance at Hikigaya-kun before pointedly looking at everywhere but him.

Hikigaya-kun glared at the perspiring abomination out of the corner of his eye, before turning back to me. "We're partners for PE, that's all. He has had exposure to my... unorthodox problem solving skills, so this much nervousness is justifiable."

An acceptable reason. Too acceptable, in fact. A simple "Yeah" would have sufficed, but Hikigaya-kun had expended excess energy to justify just how the both of them were acquainted. Hence it was safe to assume that the both of them had conversed previously, probably concerning the request that this eccentric boy was about to present to the club.

I narrowed my eyes in irritation. Was Hikigaya-kun underestimating my capability? Or was it pity that led him to ask one of his classmates to make a request to our club, just so that we would have something to do? And in the grand scheme of things, in our fight against the mastermind of Sobu High's rotten system, just what was he planning on doing by making this move?

Hikigaya-kun caught my eyes, and for a moment his face let slip a hint of panic. Then he said, as casually as he could, "Zaimokuza had a personal problem that he didn't know what to do with, so I recommended that he come to us. Incidentally, this also has something to do with our... other objectives."

It was almost as if he had read my thoughts, and was responding to my suspicion. Without a doubt, Hikigaya-kun was my ally, but I had the feeling that he had yet to confide in me completely, and the fact stung more than it should have.

 _Hikigaya Hachiman, just what are you hiding?_

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 26th May, 1330 hours]**

Mind Reading (rated 10 out of 108) was one of my more abstract skills, which despite its high failure rate was a necessity in tight situations like the one just now. Though I wasn't completely sure if Yukinoshita's suspicions had been fully dissuaded. Knowing her, they would have probably increased in number.

"Apparently, Zaimokuza is aiming to be a light novel author and wishes for us to review his potential debut literary piece," I drawled. "However, soon after he made the request to me, an unexpected event happened. I've got a copy of his manuscript right here."

I tossed it onto the table, to a nervous squeak from Zaimokuza and an exclamation from Yuigahama. "Hey! Isn't that our new Literature text? The one they just introduced this morning..."

Yukinoshita's eyes lit up in recognition, then in realisation. Apparently she had received it too. "I found it strange at the time that the school management would see fit to introduce this text to us. Hikigaya-kun, are you telling me that there is something deeper involved?"

"Yeah. Don't you think that it's a bit strange? Zaimokuza here completes the manuscript of his debut novel one night before making a request to have it proofread, and the very next day the school finds it fit to distribute copies of it around the student body."

I narrowed my eyes. "Without a doubt, this is a drastic measure undertaken by the school to ruin the potential career of a rebellious student who refuses to conform to its system."

Yukinoshita's and Yuigahama's eyes widened in shock, stunned by this outrageous conspiracy theory. Zaimokuza's mouth gaped open and sealed itself three seconds later; apparently he hadn't thought that I would take his request this far. I shot him a look conveying the message 'stick with me and I'll get your novel published for real, no questions asked' for good measure.

"B-but," stuttered Yuigahama, who had yet to wrap her head around the concept. "How would spreading this manuscript around ruin Zaimokuza-kun's career as a writer?"

"Simple. Firstly, this is the first unrefined draft of the manuscript, so the writing quality is somewhat poor. Getting more people to read it would decreases Zaimokuza's credibility as a writer. Secondly, this measure would give the impression that Zaimokuza previously published his novel without proper authorisation of a publishing company when he does try to publish it in future. The school can easily cover up the fact that the novel hadn't been published previously, so the legal backlash will inevitably fall on him. If we don't do something, he'll be sued in court."

"To think the school would go to such lengths to break my brother-in-arms..." Yukinoshita whispered, rage filling every syllable, "Absolutely unforgivable. I will not rest until I have crushed their plans!" Zaimokuza gaped at her, evidently surprised about his promotion from 'perspiring abomination'' to 'brother-in-arms'.

"I feel the same way!" shouted Yuigahama passionately, causing Yukinoshita to shoot her a surprised glance. "This is just plain wrong! We've gotta do something about it!"

Yukinoshita looked at me, the flames of resolve still burning in her usually cold eyes. _Yes, that is what I want to see! If you can't pass this trial, Yukinoshita Yukino, you are no match for me in the least!_ "Hikigaya-kun, you seem to have extensive knowledge concerning this measure. Do you have any idea on how to counter it?"

"Of course." I smirked. "All we need to do... is help Zaimokuza to refine his manuscript."

The three other occupants of the room stared at me in disbelief, before one of them realised he was supposed to be cooperating with me and tried to mould his expression into a more supportive one.

"No, think about it," I said. "If we improve the manuscript so drastically that it's basically a different one from the original, Zaimokuza can get it published without any copyright infringement. It's foolproof!"

The two girls considered this. Then Yukinoshita spoke up.

"I cannot deny the effectiveness of your solution, Hikigaya-kun," she said, slowly. "But even if we help Zaimokuza-kun to the extent of writing his novel for him, he will face future challenges from the school on the course of his career as a writer." She turned to the sweating mass in a trench coat. "Zaimokuza-kun, if you continue down this path, you will definitely find yourself obstructed by Sobu High and all its connections to the corporate world. Do you have the will to fight against these forces continually?"

Zaimokuza gave me an uneasy glance, and I nodded slightly. "Y-yes!" he exclaimed. "My resolve is genuine! I _will_ be a light novel author, and I will crush every barrier that stands in my way!"

"Very well," Yukinoshita said, nodding in a satisfied fashion. "Your request has been heard. The Service Club will help you to proofread your novel overnight and criticize it. Whatever you do with this criticism will be entirely up to you. I wish you the best of luck, Zaimokuza-kun."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 26th May, 1600 hours]**

"I can't do this," moaned Yuigahama, slumping onto her table. "I mean, I really want to help you proofread this, but there are so many grammar errors I don't even know what you're writing about!"

"It appears that this will take more effort than I originally thought," Yukinoshita whispered, too tired to raise her voice to a normal level. She broke her perfect posture to massage her temple, which meant that she was nursing a headache at the level of a migraine or worse. "I'll be taking my copy of the manuscript home to peruse it further. Zaimokuza-kun, I'll have to ask you to come again tomorrow."

Zaimokuza visibly gathered up the shreds of his tattered ego and nodded. "S-sure. I will be looking forward to your words of praise then!"

Yukinoshita's eyes narrowed. "As your comrade, I am strictly on your side. However, I can safely say that there won't be any of the words of praise you have been anticipate. Prepare yourself, Zaimokuza-kun. Like it or not, we _will_ hone your skills as a writer."

 _Not broken yet, eh?_ I grinned. _That's fine, actually. Why rely on a stupid request when I can break you myself?_

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 26th May, 1605 hours]**

"Frankly, his novel is beyond hope," declared Yukinoshita as soon as Zaimokuza shut the clubroom door. As expected, she was torn between helping an individual who she clearly viewed as a comrade and giving up on an impossible and meaningless task. "Why couldn't he have picked a more suitable career?"

Frustration in spadefuls, just what I was aiming for. Individuals with overwhelming resolve had often given in to the fact that their resolve will not get them anywhere; for Yukinoshita, this frustration at not getting anything done would be her undoing.

"Don't be like that, Yukinoshita-san!" Yuigahama tried, even though her eyes betrayed a tinge of hopelessness. "I mean, I agree that he's not really suited for this kind of thing, but he was so enthusiastic about it... I'm sure that we'll be able to help Zaimokuza-san improve himself, with enough effort!"

And here it was, the perfect mix of resignation and guilt. Zaimokuza had really played his role well, I mused to myself, to emphasize his faked enthusiasm for writing. Despite the multitude of lives Yuigahama had trampled upon, she was the kind of airheaded girl that would feel the weight of crushing the hopes and dreams of others on her conscience.

I waited a few seconds for Yukinoshita to fire the usual sarcastic barb about backstabbing traitors, but this time she was too mentally exhausted to do so. I seized the opening presented to me.

"I think we should give up," I said. Two pairs of stunned eyes directed themselves in my direction.

"But... Hikki, wasn't this entire thing your idea?" _Oi, what's with that term of address?_

"I changed my mind. Both of you can understand, right? He's beyond hope." Both girls simultaneously found great interest in the clubroom's floor. "At this level of writing capability, entering the light novel industry will be a dumb move, even for him. I think we should stop wasting effort on saving him from the school's influence."

"I cannot accept this," Yukinoshita said as she glared at me. "Undeserving as he may be, Zaimokuza-kun has displayed the will to oppose our school."

"Only because the school interfered with his delusional ambitions," I returned. "Didn't you see his attitude? He's clearly satisfied with his current ability. He feels that he doesn't need our help at all." Yukinoshita gritted her teeth and averted her gaze from mine.

Yuigahama said nothing. Despite her strong belief that all people had a good side to them, she was well aware that a man who is satisfied with himself will never seek to improve, no matter how much he is criticized. In her mind, Zaimokuza would never strive towards his good side and was therefore a lost cause.

 _Weak little girl. This duel between Yukinoshita and I was perfect before you butted in!_

"That's why I said we should stop wasting our efforts and-"

"No."

My heart skipped a beat. Could it be... that I had been waiting all day for this moment?

"I won't deny that you're right, Hikigaya-kun. But we won't give up. If he does not see the need to improve himself, all we need to do is to make him discover that need, no matter what measures we need to utilise in order to do so."

"In that case, you're just forcing your ideals on others. What makes you so different from the mastermind you're fighting, huh?"

Instead of Zaimokuza's daunting request, this was my true attack on the Service Club: the statement that would make Yukinoshita contemplate her existence and actions for the days to come. The very first step toward shattering her resolve completely. After all, there is no better way to discourage an inflated sense of justice than to render this justice meaningless.

 _Yukinoshita, you sheltered princess. There is no justice in this world, simply us. Come to realise this fact, and face me as an equal; that's the only way you can hope to win!_

"I am aware that I am similar to the individual that I fight against. Whoever said that I couldn't be?"

 _...huh?_

"I do not oppose him because he forces his ideals onto others; doing so is the only way one can make his mark on society. But I oppose him because his ideals are wrong."

 _What on earth..._ "Who are you to decide that?" I ground out, subconsciously clenching my teeth and my fists. "Your 'justice' is nothing but an empty delusion. By refusing to conform to Sobu High's social caste, you are conforming to a social construct instead! Who decides what is right and wrong, anyway? Society? Your superiors? Your peers?"

"Me."

Upon seeing the resolution in her eyes as her mouth uttered that outrageous word, the blood drained from my face. Feeling faint, I slowly lowered myself back onto my chair.

 _I thought you fought for justice, but turns out you were fighting for yourself, huh? Forcing your ideals on the people around you, just like me. Here I was thinking you had yet to grow into the position of an opponent worthy of me, but turns out you were already my equal. Or have you surpassed me already?_

 _How presumptuous. How ignorant. How wonderful! Yukinoshita Yukino, looks like I underestimated you yet again._

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 27th May, 1305 hours]**

I stood guard in the corridor leading to the Service Club's clubroom. Yuigahama had already gone in a few minutes ago and was probably being reprimanded by Yukinoshita for being late as usual. Speaking of which, Yukinoshita would most likely skin me alive for staying outside the clubroom on purpose. But the stage needed to be set.

"Took you long enough," I said as Zaimokuza rounded the corner. Upon seeing me he started and instinctively turned around in an attempt to flee, before his mind caught up with his legs and instructed them to stay still if they wanted to move ever again. At least, that was how I imagined it.

Beads of sweat so large that they classified more as blobs formed on his forehead. "H-have I done anything wrong?"

"Nope. In fact, your performance yesterday was just what I needed. I just wanted to warn you that Yukinoshita has a lot of criticism ready for you today."

He huffed, an interesting mix of relief and resignation. "Of course... I've been expecting this. Fear not, for I shall take them all in stride!"

I could already see the outcome of this meeting; Yukinoshita would continuously grill Zaimokuza with her verbal barbs until he either decided to get his act together or sank into the sea of depression.

 _But that wouldn't be fun now, would it?_

"No," I growled. "You will not."

Zaimokuza paled.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 27th May, 1310 hours]**

As I had previously calculated, Hikigaya-kun and Zaimokuza-kun entered the clubroom together, ten minutes after the acceptable time no less. Hikigaya-kun knew how much emphasis I placed on punctuality; to meet up with Zaimokuza-kun at the risk of incurring my wrath had clearly been a decision made after careful contemplation.

And this fact irked me. I had not forgotten that this request was most likely an arranged one, and although Hikigaya-kun claimed that this request had something to do with our overall rebellion, the fact remained that he was manipulating Zaimokuza-kun's behaviour behind my back. Hikigaya-kun was a monster of logic and observation, and had therefore probably arranged for Zaimokuza-kun to give in easily and give me a greater sense of satisfaction for whipping him into shape.

As Hikigaya-kun took a seat beside me, formulating a meaningless excuse, I silently resolved not to let things happen the way he wanted them to.

"Zaimokuza-kun," I began. "There are several errors with your manuscript that require rectification."

Surprisingly, Zaimokuza-kun did not nod agreeingly as he usually did, instead choosing to stare me straight in the eye. "Is that so, now? Or are you simply jealous of my magnificent work?"

My irritation rose. "I do not lie. Your work is indeed atrocious. May I remind you that we are trying to help you here-"

"Oh yeah?" Zaimokuza-kun's voice rose to almost hysterical levels. "That's why you're criticizing me unconstructively for no good reason? I try and do a favour for _this guy here_ ," here he jabbed a finger in a furious Hikigaya-kun's direction, "and what do I get for it? Nothing! Absolutely nothing but baseless slander!"

"Now just hold on a sec, Zaimokuza," hissed Hikigaya-kun, rising out of his seat with killing intent in his eyes. "This isn't what we agreed on-"

"Screw you and what we agreed on!" screamed Zaimokuza-kun. "Why should I care about your stupid club? All you've done so far was to try and crush my hopes and dreams! My aspirations! How am I supposed to publish my novel if it keeps being insulted like this?"

His argument had so many logical loopholes and fallacies that I didn't know how to disassemble it. I felt the origins of a headache manifest themselves in the deepest depths of my skull.

Hikigaya-kun's face was white with fury, and he probably would have done something unseemly if Yuigahama-san didn't grab his arm and pull him back down onto his chair. It appeared that whatever collaboration Hikigaya-kun had with our unreasonable client was now null and void.

It was time for a change of plans, then. I inhaled.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 27th May, 1315 hours]**

That was it, then. Zaimokuza and I had fallen out, right in front of the rest of the Service Club. In the span of mere minutes, Yukinoshita was convinced that she would need to do her absolute best to put this rebellious boy with Chuunibyou back on the right path.

All according to plan. _Just forget about light novels, Zaimokuza; you'll do pretty well in the acting industry._ All that was left was to see how Yukinoshita would deal with this. If she could, that is.

Beside me, she inhaled.

"Zaimokuza-kun. It appears that you do not want us to criticize your manuscript." _And so it begins._

Zaimokuza made perfect eye contact with her and glared, a feat that even I had taken a long while to achieve. I had to give it to him; Group F students truly were something else. "Yeah, what about it? If not for this stupid request I would have gotten it published already."

"And what good would it do if you didn't listen to the advice of others? Do you feel that your literary work requires no amendment?"

His chest swelled. "I, the great sword emperor Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, have no need for correction! Everything in my light novel that you regard as 'erroneous' was put in there by me on purpose!"

Yukinoshita's eyes narrowed. _Could it be that you're giving up already? Come on, you know that logic isn't going to work on this guy._ "Everything? Including the heaps of meaningless jargon?"

"Of course! Such terminology is necessary to the utmost."

"How about the spelling mistakes? Were they done on purpose?"

"Naturally. I am redefining the entire industry by revolutionising the concept of spelling in light novels!"

Yukinoshita glowered, frustrated. "And the highly abbreviated writing style?"

Zaimokuza smirked and flung his head back. It was the perfect picture of childish arrogance. "Call it artistic license, if you may."

"Enough is enough!" Yukinoshita hissed, knocking over her chair in an attempt to stand up. "I have no knowledge of otaku culture, but the world out there will not appreciate such shoddy work. We are your allies, and we are trying to help you! Do you not understand that there are countless enemies that will make use of your incompetence to reduce your life to rubble?"

Zaimokuza grinned. "Is that so? So far all I've seen of my allies are individuals trying to slander my life's work!"

"That's wrong!"

Three heads turned to look at the excess occupant of the clubroom who hadn't spoken up for the entire exchange. Yuigahama's face was bright red; apparently she'd been wanting to speak up for a while now. "Zaimokuza-kun, you're misunderstanding something here! We would never criticize your story without reason!"

"Oh yeah?" the target of her emphatic outburst sneered. "How're you gonna prove that, then? I see no reason to change my manuscript."

"I..." Yuigahama faltered. "I can't really prove it, but we're trying to help you because we're the Service Club! We lend a helping hand to our fellow students to solve their problems! And... and right now, we're telling you that you're a horrible writer!"

Zaimokuza stared at her, stunned, only recovering after a full five seconds. "You... you're trying to convince me that you're trying to help me, right?" I mentally agreed; insulting someone to their face is the worst way to compromise with them. _Just what are you doing, Yuigahama Yui?_

"I am! But you can't write, and that's the truth! P-personally, I think it's admirable to pursue your dreams, but right now you can't make yours a reality. Many people have told you that, right?"

"H-How did you know that?" Zaimokuza squeaked, forgetting his role in my staged scenario.

"You wanted to become a writer so as to impact the hearts of others, don't you? It's not as simple as you think! For the past year... no, even before that! I have always changed to fit the needs and wants of others, so that they would like me. It's the same for you, Zaimokuza-kun!"

Zaimokuza looked visibly shaken now, leading me to abruptly realise where this was going. _Shit, she understands his heart! She's going for his emotions! And it's Working!_

"There's nothing wrong with changing yourself!" shouted Yuigahama. "Some people don't do that, and change the world around them instead, and I think that's admirable in its own way too, but if you truly want to impact people you must understand them first! Understand their hearts, and change according to what they want. Listen to us, Zaimokuza-kun. We're trying to help you!"

Understanding people's hearts, changing accordingly... I suppressed the uneasy twinge that sprung up in my own conscience. _Damn you, Yuigahama. Did you just make my resolve waver?_

Zaimokuza trembled before bursting into tears. "I'm sorry!" he gasped in between sobs. "I just can't do this anymore!" A stunned Yukinoshita looked at him in amazement; even her sharpest barbs and most logical arguments had failed to convince him, and yet here he was, bawling his eyes out.

I could stand it no longer. Ignoring the inquiring gazes of Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, I stood up and barged out of the room.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 27th May, 1625 hours]**

I was waiting in the corridor once again when Zaimokuza stepped out of the clubroom. He nearly jumped out of his skin upon seeing me, but brought himself back under control and approached me cautiously.

"I... I'm sorry, I failed."

"It's fine," I sighed. I had thought that Zaimokuza would be the perfect counter to Yukinoshita's logical methodology, and he was. But in all honesty, the fault was mine for underestimating Yuigahama's ability to understand the heart. "It wasn't completely your fault. So I suppose you spent the rest of the time listening to their criticism?"

He looked at me, still cautious. "Well... yes. The experience of being corrected by individuals who wished to support my life's work was... better than I thought."

 _Looks like I lost this round._ I growled internally while keeping my expression stoic. "Good for you. About the other end of our agreement..."

"Oh, but I didn't keep mine."

"You did well enough. So, when do you want your novel to be published and how many people do you want to read it?" Even if Zaimokuza had failed this time round, his skills and newfound connection to the Service Club could prove to be invaluable assets. If I could get some incentive to make him my pawn, I would consider today a relative success...

Zaimokuza laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Um, well, about that... I think I won't need it to be published, after all."

My eyes widened, just by a fraction of a millimetre. "What?"

He laughed, embarrassed. "Well, you know... after all that, I realised that I don't really want to use your method of forcing people to read my novel. If people are gonna read it, they'll be reading it because they want to, and they'll appreciate and criticize it all they want! That is what my pride, as great sword emperor Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, dictates!"

He stood there in the glow of the late afternoon sun, amongst the mundane rows of window panes and clubroom doors, a strange boy dressed in a trench coat and goggles. Completely out of place. A lone wolf defying the oppressive influence of his environment.

 _Well, aren't you cool._

"Right," I said, keeping my voice under control. "I'll see you around, then."

Immediately after Zaimokuza rounded the corner, I let out a howl of fury and kicked the wall.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 27th May, 1630 hours]**

I've lost this round, truly and completely. I thought that giving Yukinoshita and Yuigahama a hard time would be enough to make them give up on this entire charade, but it seems I was wrong. Well done, both of you. First point goes to the rebels.

And now I'm pissed. Not at Yukinoshita for being so unwaveringly hard to crack, not at Yuigahama for ruining my plan completely with an unforeseen skill, not at Zaimokuza for letting himself be influenced by those two blind fools. No, I'm angry at myself.

What was Yuigahama thinking, inserting a speech about one changing the world around oneself because one couldn't understand the hearts of others into her rant? Was she looking down on me? Has she been looking down on the mastermind behind the system that _she has been feeding off_ this whole time?

And to think my resolve wavered because of it! There was no possibility that it should have hit home in any way.

But evidently it did for Zaimokuza. A three-man organisation managed to completely change the outlook and personality of one of the most stubbornly delusional individuals in the school? What a joke. Humans are simple creatures, only living for self-gratification and self-benefit. If Zaimokuza managed to shrug that notion off, all this shows is that his resolve was not strong enough to begin with.

This round was simply my warmup. In my war against the Service Club, I have yet to utilise the most crucial part of my beloved system. If it took the entire club to deal with a single individual, I wonder how they will fare against an entire social group...

Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, prepare yourselves. Our battle has only just begun!

 **END OF CHAPTER 3**

 **Authors note: Life's been real hectic lately, so my updates may become more infrequent. Rest assured that I will finish this story, though!**


	4. Chapter 4

**[Hikigaya Hachiman, 5th June, 0700 hours]**

Cycling is the optimal mode of transport to school, for reasons unrelated to finance and environmental concerns. Similar to the idle waiter at a restaurant or the busy janitor sweeping the floor, nobody pays any heed to a schoolboy on a bicycle. For the past year or so, this method of commute had allowed me to go about my business, involving interaction with several unrelated individuals and the conducting of countless questionable activities.

Today was no exception. As I pushed my bicycle into its designated slot, a figure slowly but surely approached me. Halfway across the courtyard, I realised it was a female student. As she slid into the shadows where I stood, I saw that she was the student council president.

Shiromeguri Meguri, one of my most trusted subordinates. How ironic it was that my most loyal lackeys were the ones I had no direct hold over. Hayama, for instance, was serving me out of a sense of gratitude for saving his father's company from going bankrupt a few years back. Shiromeguri-senpai had been a nameless girl with no particular talent until she got involved in Chiba's underground and I used my connections to pull her out. Following that, I placed her on Sobu High's seat of authority and she had been serving me well ever since.

Both Hayama and Shiromeguri-senpai obeyed me with the hope that this system would serve as a good platform to exert their influence and change Sobu High for the better; personally I believed that their efforts were useless, but I wasn't going to break it to them anytime soon. In a sense, the leash that I kept on the both of them was much less substantial than blackmail or bribery, yet so much stronger.

I nodded in acknowledgement. "Shiromeguri-senpai."

White hair tied neatly into two loose braids, dreamy yet warm eyes, a disarming and nervous-looking smile... she played the part of an innocent girl extremely well. No wonder members of the student body liked her so much. She swallowed, clearly steeling herself for this rare but important interaction.

"Boss, I-"

"Address me normally when we're in public," I commanded, dropping my voice to an almost inaudible volume. "We don't want any eavesdroppers, do we?"

"R-right. Hikigaya-kun, I got the documents you requested."

Ah, the required resources for my next attack on the Service Club. I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. "Wonderful. What's the unlucky group?"

"The Tennis team," Shiromeguri-senpai replied, handing me a clear plastic file. Further inspection revealed the photo of a petite looking girl with short white hair, dressed in a baggy green tracksuit.

"Wait, that's the target you chose?"

"Totsuka Saika, captain of the tennis team. As per your instruction, I filed a demotion to Group C. Um... was I not supposed to?"

"Nah, it's fine," I replied, mind racing. "Incidentally, why is the captain of the tennis team a girl? I specifically told you to ban female club representatives to foster gender inequality and breed discontent among members of the student body."

Did Shiromeguri-senpai disregard my orders on purpose? In that case, why did she purposefully select this particular captain for my personal use when she knew I would question her failure to follow my regulations? _Does she think I'm completely stupid? Is this a proclamation of war? I don't understand this girl!_

"...Hikigaya-kun. That's a boy."

 _...Oh. Never mind, then._

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 5th June, 1315 hours]**

Yukinoshita frowned as she regarded our newest client. "You were demoted for 'a lack of participation in club activities'? That certainly sounds strange."

Totsuka Saika nodded earnestly. A sudden demotion would usually drive a student to crushing despair, but he showed none of it here. Honestly speaking, I was fairly impressed.

"I have been attending training consistently, Yukinoshita-san!" he said emphatically, before dipping his head shyly in a way that would undoubtedly give nosebleeds to a good portion of the male student population. "N-not that I think you doubt me or anything..."

"I believe you, Sai-chan!" cheered Yuigahama, pumping her fist into the air. "Don't worry, we'll help you get your rank back like I promised!" Upon hearing this completely empty proclamation, Totsuka cheered up considerably, much to my puzzlement. If the promise came from Yukinoshita I would understand, but how did someone as unreliable as Yuigahama elicit such a positive reaction?

Speaking of which, there was a myriad of things that I still didn't understand about Yuigahama, but it didn't really matter. As long as I took her social skills into consideration, she wouldn't pose much of a threat to my plans; all I would need to do from here on was to prevent Yukinoshita from finding too much evidence that pointed to me being the mastermind.

"By the way," I said. "What are all these people doing here?" About thirteen tennis players in purple tracksuits shifted uneasily, forming a squirming fabric cloud behind their tiny team captain.

Totsuka laughed nervously. "Oh, they're always overly concerned about my well-being and follow me around everywhere... do I need to send them out?" A chorus of embarrassed protests began, but died immediately after the small white-haired boy set his team with a stern glare.

No doubt these were individuals with extremely low assertiveness, if they could bring themselves to willingly follow such a weak-looking leader. However, this sorry bunch was an integral part of my latest plan to topple the Service Club. The Tennis team, like most other sports clubs, had all its members in Group B. Normally clubs would discard any demoted members immediately, but in the case of a team captain getting demoted, matters would be slightly more complicated and hence clubs tried to prevent that as much as possible.

Unfortunately for the tennis team, they had been chosen as stepping stones for my ambition. Unfortunately for the Service Club, they would have to convince every single member of the tennis team to demote themselves to Group C, along with Totsuka. And no matter what the extent of the tennis players' loyalty was, it wouldn't take much pressure for their true colours to be revealed...

Yukinoshita cleared her throat. "I have grasped the situation, and logically there are only two options. The first is for all of the members present to demote yourselves to Group C."

Once again, the members of the tennis team shifted uneasily as Totsuka sadly cast his eyes to the ground. Then one of the braver souls spoke up. "Um... well, we've never really been demoted before, so we're not really sure how to..."

"That's no problem!" interjected Yuigahama. "I'm sure I can arrange something! And Hayato-kun won't suspect anything because I'm not promoting anyone. Are you guys willing to sacrifice yourselves for Sai-chan, though?"

 _Foolish girl._ I scoffed internally. _What makes you think anyone would willingly climb down the social ladder? Don't you know an excuse when you hear one? There's no way this method is gonna wo-_

"We'll do it!" proclaimed the vice-captain. The remaining members roared in assent.

 _...wait, what?_

"Hold on," commanded Yukinoshita. "You do know what demoting yourselves entails, right?"

"Of course!" boomed the vice-captain. "But we'll do anything for the Captain! Do not underestimate the power of our loyalty!"

I watched helplessly as my perfectly crafted plan fell to pieces right before my very eyes, courtesy of a bunch of fools who let their hormones make decisions for them instead of their brains.

 _I need an opening... something... anything!_ I scanned the multitude of exuberated faces, and my gaze fell upon a dejected one... _There!_

"What," I hissed, turning to Totsuka. "You're okay with this?"

Totsuka had been looking uncomfortable to begin with, but upon exposure to this direct attack his expression turned doubly constipated. "I..."

"Using your friends to take the fall for you is simply disgusting," I whispered amidst the raucous cheers and Yuigahama's chirps of thanks. "Is that all they are to you? Disposable pieces of trash?"

Totsuka's lower lip quivered. The shadows on his face lengthened and darkened. Miniscule tears started to form at the corners of his eyes...

"Well?" I growled. "Is that how it is?"

"N-No!"

The chatter ceased immediately. Yukinoshita sensed the sudden lack of background noise and jolted awake from her semi-vegetative state. I watched her eyes calmly sweep across the room, settle on Totsuka, dart up to me, and form their own conclusions.

 _Aaaaaand... busted. Looks like I let my guard down once again._

"T-that's not what I want at all!" whimpered Totsuka, all traces of his previous collectedness slowly dissipating into the humid afternoon air. "You guys may be okay with it, but you can't sacrifice yourselves for me! I won't allow it!"

Totsuka sniffled. The tennis team shuffled its collective twenty feet, casting ten dejected faces to the clubroom floor.

Yukinoshita's tact had improved in leaps and bounds since the day we first met; she allowed the heavy silence to settle in for ten whole seconds before speaking up.

"The only alternative will be to bring Totsuka-s... Totsuka-kun's rank back up to Group B."

Eleven heads (twelve if you counted Yuigahama) perked up instantly.

"According to the school rules," continued Yukinoshita, "the rank of a sports club member can be raised if he/she makes a significant contribution to the school's track record. This includes, of course, performing excellently in a competition."

Ah yes, that little rule. I had approved its implementation only because a meritocratic system promotes competitiveness and unhealthy rivalry; never would I have thought that it would be used against me. As expected of Yukinoshita.

That being said, the school rulebook was essentially a plethora of meaningless text and downright unreasonable directives, punctuated by multiple microscopic layers of fine print. The fact that Yukinoshita had actually bothered to go through the entire thing spoke volumes about her capability and drive.

"T-that's right! Nationals are in a few months, right? There's still a chance for me to fix this!"

"According to my calculations, the competitions end a few days before the next club inspection," Yukinoshita stated like the mechanical search engine that she was.

The mass foot-shuffling resumed. "I don't really know how to say this," said the vice-captain, after a lengthy pause, "But Captain Totsuka isn't really that good at tennis..."

"He can train!" exclaimed Yuigahama, who simply couldn't get depressed. "I've been practicing and my cooking has been getting better. I'm sure it'll be the same for you, Sai-chan!"

"It will be exponentially difficult," said Yukinoshita gravely. "Are you prepared to undertake this trial?"

"I'll do it!" came the reply without hesitation. "For my friends, I'll do whatever it takes!"

"Captain!" sobbed the vice-captain. "We'll follow you to the death!"

I grit my teeth as the clubroom exploded into a myriad of sound yet again. _Time for a change of plans..._

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 5th June, 1345 hours]**

"Hikigaya-kun," said Yukinoshita as soon as the tennis club and Yuigahama had filed out of the clubroom. Her eyes had a steely undertone to them. "Would you mind explaining your actions?"

But I had prepared myself for this interaction. "What, you think I bullied him into making that decision? I simply voiced the concerns that were already on his mind."

Her eyes narrowed further. "Is that so? It looked to me that you were trying to impede the Service Club's progress by giving us more work to do."

A direct attack, as expected of Yukinoshita. "I was furthering our progress," I replied smoothly. "If we lowered the entire team to Group C, we'd be playing straight into the school administration's hands. Wouldn't it be better to reverse the demotion directly?"

Yukinoshita sighed. "This club is a part of the system and has little to do with our objectives-"

 _Checkmate._ I feigned a look of surprise. "We're not helping them? Even though they are part of the student body?"

She flinched, ever so slightly. "No, it's just that-"

"How could you be so heartless towards the victims of this rotten system?" I gasped. "In the first place, what makes you any different from the people who run it?"

The question hung in the air. After a lengthy clash of wills, performed via intensive eye contact, Yukinoshita sighed and looked down. "You're right. I apologize for my erroneous judgement."

 _Score!_ Little by little, I was beginning to expose Yukinoshita's hypocrisy and chip away at her resolve.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 5th June, 1400 hours]**

As usual, Hayama picked up on the first ring.

"Oi. Do you and your friends like tennis?"

He hesitated, as always, before replying hesitantly: "Not... particularly, no."

I stood there at the centre of the vacated corridor, malice coating my smile. "I think you do."

"...I'm afraid I don't quite follow."

"Starting tomorrow, all of you will love playing tennis, and you will love it _very_ much."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1315 hours]**

The sliding door burst open, a physically impossible feat for a sliding door.

"Emergency report!" exclaimed Yuigahama, dragging Totsuka behind her. "Hayato-kun and the rest of the Group S students are using all the tennis courts!"

"What?" hissed Yukinoshita. "Doesn't the tennis team have first priority to those?"

"That's how it is on paper," Totsuka mumbled. "But Hayama-kun's word is absolute and all..."

"Is there any way for you to train elsewhere?" I asked, knowing full well that there wasn't.

Totsuka shook his head. "The Yakuza have been hanging around all the courts in the vicinity a lot recently, so I can't use those."

How fortunate that I had planned around all potential obstacles and made arrangements for this to happen a few days prior. 'Paranoid Foresight' (rated 53 out of 108) was a pain to use, but it had come in fairly useful here.

"That's a pity," I drawled, eagerly eyeing Yukinoshita's slightly trembling figure. "Looks like you'll have to give up on nationals-"

Yukinoshita's eyes flashed.

"Oi, don't do anything rash-"

Yukinoshita stalked out of the clubroom, leaving behind three (two, if you excluded me) stunned students in her wake.

 _Checkmate._

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 6th June, 1330 hours]**

By the time we got to the tennis courts, Yukinoshita-san was already arguing with Hayato-kun and Yumiko, even though it probably was no use. I tried running to them, but a hand landed on my shoulder and roughly pulled me back.

"Stay down," hissed Hikki. "She can handle this by herself."

 _How?_ I wondered. _Nobody can win against Hayato-kun, because he never fights in the first place! He simply repeats his points in a different way and everyone agrees with him..._

But this was Hikki, who probably knew more about these things than me. Yukinoshita-san trusted him and his abilities, so I figured I should too.

"Yukinoshita-san," Hayato-kun was saying with a tired smile on his face. "There is no rule that students cannot use the tennis courts during recess."

Yukinoshita-san's cold blue eyes blazed with fury. "The tennis team gets priority to the courts."

The shadows on Hayato-kun's face grew darker even as his smile stayed, and all of my Group S friends looked at him anxiously. That was the face he made when he had to do something that he didn't want to do, something that would make other students suffer.

"There is no rule that states that either," Hayato-kun said. "In the new and updated rulebook, that is."

Yukinoshita-san's eyes widened in sudden realisation. "And when were the rules updated?"

"Yesterday evening," said Hayato-kun, smiling wryly as his accuser bristled with rage. "We have every right to be here, Yukinoshita-san."

On my way up the social ladder, I had been prepared to join a group of bloodthirsty students, but it was not like that at all. Hayato-kun did a lot of bad things sometimes, but I could see that his heart wasn't in it. We all could, actually. That was why we followed him despite having to do these things along with him.

Upon seeing his face, my heart clenched. Hikki did say to leave them alone, but seeing all these unhappy faces... I pledged that I would never forgive Sobu High's mastermind for as long as I lived.

 _Don't worry, Hayato-kun! I'll save you and everyone else soon, but first we'll need that tennis court!_

Ignoring Hikki's grunt of surprise, I stepped forward.

"Hayato-kun," I said. "Tennis is boring. Can we do something else?"

All my Group S friends gasped and tried to motion for me to stop. I ignored them.

Hayato-kun looked genuinely surprised. 'This is the first time you've said anything of the sort to me, Yui." An implied ' _why?'_ hung in the air.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm normally fine with doing whatever you do, but I really can't comprise this time. Let's do something else, please?"

"It's 'compromise', Yui," sighed Hayato-kun. "And I'm afraid I can't go with your suggestion. Or maybe all of you can go do something else while Yumiko and I stay behind? We really want to play some more, you see."

Yumiko turned to him, agape. "Hayato, wha-"

" _We really love tennis,_ don't we, Yumiko?"

She deflated. "R-right."

This was the point where any normal person would have given up. It was probably the point where everyone was expecting me to give up. And maybe I should have.

"No," I said. "I want you to leave the court as well, Hayato-kun."

Yukinoshita-san stared at me in shock, not understanding why I would go to such lengths. In her mind, going against the mastermind directly was probably a stupid move. I hoped I would earn her trust someday, but this was all I could do for now...

"Yui," said Hayato-kun gently. "You need this court for a club request, right? It's not worth it to do this just for the sake of your club. You know that, don't you?"

"I love this club," I replied, "because we all aim to do the right thing. I know what you're trying to do, and I kinda know why you're doing it, but it's wrong. Really wrong! So I won't compromise, no matter what you say!"

Hayato-kun looked really conflicted. His face had turned white, and his eyes were moving so fast that they seemed to be darting between me and Hikki. The tension reached a breaking point, and then-

"We'll play for it, then," Hikki announced, stepping out from behind me.

Several sets of eyes turned in his direction.

"Pardon?" said Hayato-kun.

"There's no need to be so rigid. Since you evidently can't handle things by _yourself_ ," Hikki glared at Hayato-kun, who flinched ever-so-slightly, "we'll just compete for the right to use this court."

"Don't mess with us!" Tobe-kun barked. "Hayato-kun started using this court first-"

"It's fine," Hayato-kun cut him off. "I think it's a great idea, in fact." He turned to Hikki. "We'll be playing doubles, right? Yumiko, you're with me."

"Alright," said Hikki. "Yukinoshita, let's go."

Yukinoshita-san snapped out of her stupor. "R-right."

As the four players prepared for the match and a multitude of students gathered around to watch, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. This was obviously great for us, but how did Hikki get Hayato-kun to agree with him so easily? I knew he had really good skills and insights, but to pull off this downright impossible task...

I frowned.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 6th June, 1400 hours]**

This was certainly a sudden, unexpected turn of events; first Yuigahama-san's sudden act of treachery to her social group, then Hikigaya-kun's seemingly impossible role reversal and successful negotiations. All of it had happened so fast that my head was still reeling. To top it all off, we were now competing for ownership of the court.

But such a dazed and unaware state was not befitting of the president of the Service Club. While picking up my racket, I composed myself and thought about these events clearly and rationally.

Yuigahama-san, despite clearly being on Group S's side, had openly opposed her superior Hayama Hayato, a completely unprecedented action. Since there was no possibility that the individual named Yuigahama Yui would have the fortitude to pull off such a daring stunt, that scene must logically have been a skit planned by Hayama-kun to fool us.

What exactly was he trying to fool us into believing? By ordering Yuigahama to use her own significant influence to attempt gaining ownership of the tennis court, he was probably aiming to make Hikigaya-kun and I believe that we had a chance to succeed.

Despite the fact that I had let my emotions get the better of me and had acted rashly just mere minutes ago, I was fully aware the whole time that my actions were futile. For Hayama-kun to offer us just a sliver of hope in this interaction, he must have been planning to crush it completely upon further negotiation, effectively weakening our resolve. Such was the cruelty of the mastermind behind Sobu High's system.

Did Hikigaya-kun see through this plan from the start, immediately jumping at the chance to challenge the top caste to a fight? Recruiting him seemed to be a good choice.

Even right now, Hayama-kun was probably thinking of crushing us in this game, in front of a significant portion of the student body. However... I stole a glance at Hikigaya-kun, who flashed a thumbs-up.

 _We have a trump card up our sleeves. You may think yourself as physically capable of besting us at sports, Hayama-kun, but you can't beat a man who's spent half his life in Chiba's underground!_

We took our respective places on the court. Totsuka-kun stood by the side, having been requested to act as judged. It was just like Hayama-kun to mock us so, I thought, as if saying that we couldn't win even with a judge biased in our favour.

"Match Start!" Totsuka-kun announced.

Hayama-kun started with a normal serve in my direction, ostensibly to test my capability. So I did likewise to Miura-san by smashing the ball in her direction. The ball flew, a light green blur, to rebound lightly against the ground and collide full force into her unsuspecting stomach.

Totsuka hesitated. "One-Love!"

A chorus of gasps resounded around the court as Miura-san wheezed and fell onto her back. Even Hikigaya-kun stared at me in shock as the Group S students moved to help her up. Hayama-kun's face slowly took on an expression of fury.

"I played by the rules," I said. "Miura-san was unable to receive my hit due to her own incompetence."

"Even so," hissed Hayama-kun, whose face was now shadowed by a frown that concealed the full extent of his rage. "You crossed the line, Yukinoshita-san."

Beside me, Hikigaya-kun smirked, dead-fish eyes narrowing. "Come at us with everything you have, then. We've gotta make this match fun, after all."

As Hayama-kun took his serving position and Miura-san took her place behind him, I silently calculated that our victory was decided. Even if Hayama-kun's capability surpassed mine, his partner was more or less out of commission, and he wouldn't be able to take on both myself and Hikigaya-kun at the same time. This match would end in the Service Club's definite victory, and even if Hayama-kun went back on his word and refused to cede the tennis court to us, the tale of his defeat and humiliation would be the talk of the campus for a long while.

Hayama-kun served, his arm a blur. Something rocketed past my head, narrowly brushing my ear.

"One-All!" Totsuka-kun called.

 _What... just happened?_

"Be careful of what you wish for," said Hayama-kun darkly. "Next time, I won't miss on purpose."

"Get behind me, Yukinoshita," mumbled Hikigaya-kun, stepping forward. "It appears I'm not the only one here who has spent lots of time around criminals."

Dazed, I stepped back.

"It's your serve," called Hayama-kun, tossing the ball to our side. Hikigaya-kun's hand vanished momentarily and the ball disappeared from its parabolic trajectory halfway in the air. Then his body moved, an indistinguishable blur, and the ball shot towards the other side of the tennis court.

The battle had begun.

The group of students marvelled as the ball flew around the court, barely visible and appearing to hit the ground in more spots than one. In a downright unreal fashion, it moved with a speed that the human eye was unable to follow, filling the tennis court with a plethora of green blurry lines.

Even more astounding were the two players. Their bodies forming two blurs that danced around the court, twisting themselves into impossible angles just to receive each others shots, Hikigaya-kun and Hayama-kun looked absolutely inhuman. Even more impressive was the fact that both of them weren't even bothering to pay attention to the ball, instead studying each others' movements and responding accordingly.

Simply put, this wasn't a tennis match anymore.

Hayama-kun stumbled as the ball clipped his racket, rocketing behind him.

"T...Two-One!" Totsuka-kun stammered, then for further clarification shouted "In the Service Club's favour!"

Hayama-kun picked himself up and tossed the now deformed ball out of the court. "Can we get a new ball, please? This one's unusable."

Hikigaya hunched down, visibly panting.

My blood ran cold. I had thought that Hikigaya-kun had won that round due to his superior physical capability, but the truth was that his shot had gone awry due to the changed shape of the ball, and Hayama-kun had missed it because Hikigaya-kun's movements did not match the direction where the ball had been hit. What this meant was that Hikigaya-kun had gotten extremely lucky for that round, and by the look of his exhausted state, this luck would not have the chance to manifest itself again.

The match resumed, but with significantly less gusto on one side than the other.

Hikigaya-kun stumbled. The ball flew clipped his racket.

"Two-All!"

The ball whizzed past Hikigaya-kun, a good three metres from where he was standing.

"Two-Three!"

The ball streaked forward like a green meteor and slammed into Hikigaya-kun's abdomen. His eyes widened, the capillaries within rupturing.

"Two-Four!"

"Time out!" I called. Hikigaya-kun sank to his knees, attempting to breathe but instead choking on his own spit. Ignoring Hayama-kun's smirk, I knelt down beside my partner.

"Sorry, Yukinoshita," he gasped, sweat streaming down his face. "That guy's a monster."

"Don't apologise," I said, rubbing his back as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the tennis court floor. "The fault is all mine."

Perhaps if I had considered the situation rationally and come up with an alternative solution, or perhaps had been of more help to Hikigaya-kun in this match, we wouldn't be in this situation. As it stood, however, the Service Club was going to return empty-handed today; what's more, with Group S's attention now fixated on us.

I inwardly cursed my foolishness. After all the mistakes that I made, how could I face my clubmates, my comrades, my client? I stared up at Totsuka-kun's face...

And took hold a glimmer of hope that surfaced amongst the sea of despair.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1430 hours]**

'Playing Dead' (rated 75 out of 108) involves the heightening of certain bodily functions and the suppression of others to fake symptoms of nausea and, in certain desperate cases, sudden epilepsy. Thanks to it, Yukinoshita didn't doubt my lack of enthusiasm and was probably blaming herself for everything that happened; my plan was progressing nicely.

I had almost burst out laughing at Yukinoshita's reaction to Hayama's physical capability. As my most capable subordinate, Hayama had been assigned to do some of my underground work, and I had made him my sparring partner to prepare him for the trials to come. He'd just been training under my supervision for about a year, yet he was able to keep up with me for such a long time during the match... something akin to self-satisfaction swelled up in my chest.

Overall this was a pretty good win, I told myself as I shakily stood back up. Even if the Service Club didn't disband after this huge blow, they would be well on that path. Soon, negligence and stagnancy would lead Yukinoshita and Yuigahama to drift apart. It was just a matter of time now.

 _Well, it's been fun..._

I paused. Yukinoshita was staring at Totsuka with a sort of strange gleam in her eyes; like a drowning man clutching at a straw, yet so confident that this straw would keep him afloat. I squinted... there it was, the flame of renewed resolve burning bright in her cerulean orbs.

 _Oh, crap. It's not over yet, is it?_

"Totsuka-kun," called Yukinoshita. "Hikigaya-kun is out of commission. Would you mind swapping out with him?"

Totsuka started, evidently shocked. "M-me? No way, there's no way I-"

"Just now, I noticed that you managed to follow the ball and Hikigaya-kun's movements perfectly well with your eyes, and that you made no mistakes in your judgement. This means that you can react to Hayama-kun's shots, right?"

"Yeah..." replied Totsuka, clearly flustered. "But I can't bring myself to react to my opponents' shots quickly enough, no matter how hard I train. Thanks for doing all this for me, Yukinoshita-san, but I can't-"

"How about all your friends, Sai-chan?" Yuigahama yelled. "They'll all waiting for you to raise your rank back up!"

"That's right," said Yukinoshita, smiling slightly like a chessmaster with mate in four. "Is that all they are to you? Disposable pieces that you have no problem discarding when they outlive their usefulness?"

Totsuka sat up straight, as if a switch had been flipped.

"It's not like that at all!" he declared. His answer was no different from when answering me, but this time the conviction in his voice was clear. He stood up and faced me. "I thought about what you said, Hikigaya-kun, and I decided that you're wrong! You know, if you didn't speak some sense into me yesterday, I would have let my clubmates sacrifice themselves for me. I'm not sure if I care for them as much as they care for me, but what I'm sure of is that I can't rely on them forever! Yukinoshita-san, I'll do it!"

 _Tch, my actions backfired on me? Unbelievable._ Even so, I thought as Totsuka positioned himself on the court, the Service Club was going to lose anyway. There was no way they could beat Hayama with this pathetic level of capability.

"Let's stop this farce, Yukinoshita-san," Hayama said, flashing a charming smile. "Totsuka-kun has nationals in a few weeks, right? You can't push him too hard."

"Those who know me well enough know that I do not lie," replied Yukinoshita, completely disregarding his taunt. "Now mark my words: This boy will defeat you: right here, right now."

"Match Resumes!" called Yuigahama. "Two-Four, Group S's favour!"

Hayama served, the ball streaking forward like a comet, slowing slightly only to graze the court floor and continue onward. Totsuka lept for it, but he was too slow; the ball grazed his racket...

...and was promptly returned by Yukinoshita. Hayama stood still for half a second in shock, before his body blurred and he performed another smash.

"What's this?" he laughed. "I thought Totsuka-kun was supposed to be my opponent here?"

"We're playing doubles," retorted Yukinoshita, returning yet another shot that Totsuka missed. "I will simply offer my support until the right moment."

It was ridiculous; Hayama would try smashing the ball, Totsuka would leap for it according to Hayama's body movements and miss, but Yukinoshita would react to Totsuka's movements and hit the ball for him. At that moment I reached a sudden realisation; most of my training with Hayama had involved him reacting to my blows, and as a result Hayama had not been trained in offense. All he could manage was straightforward smashes. And at the rate this was going, he would run out of stamina soon...

At the same time, I couldn't help but marvel at Totsuka's unwavering tenacity. Here he was, lunging and stumbling towards every shot that Hayama made, ending up on his knees or with a faceful of dirt, yet he always got up in time to respond to the next shot. Yukinoshita, too, was returning the ball extremely weakly to buy time for Totsuka to recover from each hit; in a dysfunctional sense, they made a good team.

After what seemed like hours, Totsuka finally landed a hit. Hayama moved to return it, but the ball rebounded in a different direction after hitting his racket. Dazed and fatigued, Hayama could only watch as the ball spiralled out of the court.

"Three-Four!" announced Yuigahama. I grit my teeth, frustrated.

"Hayato!" yelled Miura from behind Hayama. "Don't give up!"

"End the match already!" I called. "The outcome has already been decided!"

To the onlookers present, it seemed like I was taunting my opponent. But the truth was, in fact, much more sinister.

"N-not yet," rasped Hayama. "I still can... I have to..."

"No," I said, glaring at him. _You know what you have to do to get out of this situation. You've had your chance, now do things my way._

Desperation showing in his eyes, Hayama served, a weak shot that barely grazed the net. Seizing the opportunity, Yukinoshita smashed the ball back at him...

Time slowed. The frustration and desperation on Hayama's face deepened, but loyalty won in the end. It always did.

Movements barely distinguishable to the human eye, he sidestepped the ball. Miura only had a tenth of a second to register what happened before it slammed into her stomach for the second time that day. Her eyes widened as the breath was forcefully expelled from her lungs.

"Hayato... why..." she whimpered, before collapsing in a soft heap.

Hayama gave the stunned onlookers a tired smile as his friends flocked around the unconscious girl. "Sorry, but we'll have to continue our match another day. I'll need to send Yumiko to the nurse's office."

The onlookers chimed out in sympathy and disappointment. Yukinoshita and Totsuka, who knew full well what had actually happened, could only stare in shock. I watched, bemused, as they stared at Miura's unconscious body, the mindless students who didn't know anything, the tennis ball that had been dodged with the wilful intent to injure... everywhere but the grieved look on Hayama's face.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1600 hours]**

"To sacrifice his own comrade like that... I can't believe him!" snarled Yukinoshita. "And to use my actions for his own ends... I'll destroy him and the system he set up, even if it's the last thing I do!"

Yuigahama was silent, probably reconsidering where her loyalty lay. I paid her no heed.

"More importantly, what're you gonna do about Totsuka?"

Yukinoshita looked up, annoyed that her rant had been cut off. "Totsuka-kun's problem? It's been solved already."

"But his rank hasn't been elevated and he hasn't done anything significant in nationals yet. Are you saying we should just leave our job undone?"

"Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita sighed. "Have you forgotten the premise of this club? We simply lend a helping hand to those unable to help themselves. When all is said and done, Totsuka-kun's success will depend on his own efforts."

"So this is considered a success for our club?"

"Of course," came the reply without hesitation.

 _That's one more failure for me, then._

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1700 hours]**

I sat on a bench in the light of the setting sun, watching as members of the track and field club conducted their meaningless training activities.

I'd had it planned perfectly, and my plan had been executed perfectly. There was no oversight, no incompetence on my part or the part of my pieces (none that could have been foreseen, anyway), yet Yukinoshita had found a way to overturn the tables in an instant. It was almost as if the Service Club was some righteous organisation in a Shounen manga that was protected by plot armour.

At the moment I didn't feel any anger, just a kind of hollow resignation. I had gotten unlucky this round and had lost as a result, that was all. I would try harder next time... or would I, really? The idea of crushing the Service Club seemed to have lost its attraction.

Someone sat down next to me. It was Shiromeguri-senpai; it had to be. Nobody else in the school would have bothered.

"I watched the match," was all she said.

"You got to view my humiliating defeat, then?"

"The one you planned or the one you didn't?"

Laughter escaped our lips. Mine came out feeling empty.

"It's probably not my place to say this," Shiromeguri-senpai said after a while, "but I think what you're doing is a nice change of pace."

I laughed dryly. "You approved of something I did for once, huh."

"Of course!" she smiled warmly. After everything that she had gone through, it was a wonder how she could still do that. "You finally got a club and made some friends, didn't you? That's a huge step towards a normal high school life!"

I bristled. "A normal high school life is exactly what I don't want to have. And you do know that I'm trying to destroy this club, right?"

Shiromeguri-senpai shrugged. "You destroy clubs all the time."

We sat in comfortable silence.

"At any rate," she continued, "you've been looking much happier for the first time in ages."

My eyes flicked upward. "Happier?"

"Yeah! Like you've actually got something to look forward to."

I considered this. Making my mark in society was a mundane and long-suffering task, and the forest fire of my resolve had been weathered into a flicker before I'd noticed it. Perhaps 'something to fight for' was what I'd needed all along.

I shrugged. "Eh, it's not coming along anyway."

"I never approved of this system or the way you do things. I'm grateful for all you've done for me, but what you're doing is wrong," Shiromeguri-senpai said. "I'm not sure what you're trying to do with the Service Club, but there's a chance it'll change you for the better, I would like you not to give up."

I'd known she was going to say something like that, but it still stung when she did. "Changing is exactly what I don't want to happen. And if you hate my methods so much, feel free to stop leeching off my influence anytime."

"It's not like that and you know it," she rebutted gently, resting a hand on my head. I restrained myself from breaking her wrist reflexively; she had spent much more time than me defending herself against criminals and could probably crush my skull at a single hint of hostility.

"You've ruined so many lives, but you've helped so many in return. With ulterior motives, of course, but that doesn't erase the fact. I've considered betraying you so many times, but every time I think of that all the things you've done just kinda cancel each other out in my head. I'm probably just biased, though." She let out a light chuckle. "There's more to humanity than the filth you see on the surface. And if this fight can help you see whatever's underneath, I'll support you in every way I can."

I smirked. "Even if I plan to ruin yet more lives needlessly?"

She smiled. "I'm betting you won't get to that point."

I grinned. "I'll work you to the bone, you know."

She laughed. "More than you already have?"

I had suffered a crushing defeat today. I had humiliated myself. I was not an antagonist worthy of the Service Club's efforts. But in the light of the setting sun and the light of Shiromeguri-senpai's smile, that didn't matter so much anymore.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1730 hours]**

This is usually the point where I make a meaningless and immature monologue, ranting about why I lost to the Service Club and why it won't happen again. But that won't be happening anymore. More important than these trivial victories or defeats, I have realised that the true meaning of this fight lies in the fight itself.

In comparison to all of society's fake standards and farcical relations, could this be the closest thing I've experienced to something genuine? I wouldn't be bothering to think about it if I knew, so I suppose I'll keep thinking.

It's time to stop hiding myself in fear of being found out. It's time to stop taunting my opponents with simple, harmless plans while prodding them to weaken their resolve. I must acknowledge the members of the Service Club as opponents worthy of my full strength; only then will this battle have meaning.

Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, watch your backs. Next round, I'll crush you entirely!


	5. Chapter 5

**[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 0700 hours]**

I waited for Hayama to cool down for a few weeks or so before contacting him again; making him betray his significant other (or is he just keeping her around to drive the other girls away?) probably had an extremely detrimental impact on his mental state. At this point, the Service Club has been indulging in laziness and stagnation, courtesy of having absolutely nothing to do, and I'm dying to make my next attack.

After long hours of contemplation, I have finally realised what I had been doing wrong all along. I had originally planned to use members of the student body and the filth in their hearts to make the Service Club see how futile their efforts truly were, but given Yukinoshita's and Yuigahama's knack for bringing out the best in people, these cesspools would always flaunt the gold that floated to their surfaces.

But what if said individuals purposely made an effort to withhold the gems hidden in the crevices of their hearts? What if there was no room for anomalies or lucky chances? I have decided that this round would be a match of logic and cold, hard capability.

And this time, I'll win.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 19th June, 1300 hours]**

Hikigaya-kun came in fifteen minutes early. I am not such a shallow person as to believe in omens, but he would only arrive fifteen minutes early when a challenge was about to be presented to our club. Did he manage to subconsciously predict the events that would follow? He truly never ceased to amaze me.

Hikigaya-kun sat down at his usual spot across the table and procured a book from his bag, proceeding to peruse it with the most enthusiasm I had ever seen him regard literature with. His hands trembled slightly and his foot tapped the floor incessantly.

"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun. You seem energetic today."

"Do I?" He looked up with just the right amount of surprise on his face. Interacting with Hikigaya-kun was like playing against a Chess Grandmaster: even the slightest of movements would seep into your psyche and influence your subconscious if you weren't careful. Although I was slightly hurt that he took that attitude with me, as if I was an enemy to be cautious of, I had gotten used to his eccentricities long ago.

Now he tilted his head inquisitively and gave me a puzzled smile, which looked decently boyish despite his dead fish eyes. "It's an interesting book."

Annoyance welled up inside me. "You're holding it upside down."

"...Oh."

I waited for him to correct his blunder before continuing: "Did something happen? You're not always this agitated."

He looked palpably nervous. Perhaps the nervousness was genuine, but with Hikigaya-kun you just couldn't tell. "Nothing's happened, not really... but I feel that something big is about to happen, that's all."

"What nonsense. You're obviously hiding something from me," I snapped.

He flinched.

"Do you think I'm not qualified to know?" I pressed on. "Or do you not trust me enough?"

It was only when he cast his gaze downward with a saddened glint in his eyes that I realised the extent of my mistake.

How could I have said that? Even though I was used to his evasive behaviour, my emotions had gotten the better of me momentarily. In the first place, why was I so irked by the fact that he didn't trust me enough? Hikigaya-kun's general distrust of the people around him was one of the reasons why I trusted him so much...

"That's really just how it is," he rasped, sounding the saddest I'd ever heard him. "I may not show it, but I... I trust you, Yukinoshita."

"R-right," I stammered, inwardly cursing the twinge of guilt that surfaced at the sight of his face. "I apologise for my behaviour as well."

I understood that Hikigaya-kun was my most trusted teammate. I understood that trusting him was crucial for our cooperation. What I did not understand, however, was the light, strangely euphoric sensation I felt in my chest at the sight of his ever-so-slight smile.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1330 hours]**

Back in middle school, when my eyes had begun to harden into cynical chips of diamond, I had discovered that they were extremely reflective, and that by controlling the amount of light forming the gleam in my eyes and adjusting my facial expressions accordingly I could display any form of emotion.

Hence Crocodile Tears (rated 44 out of 108) was born. Yukinoshita wasn't the type to get swayed by emotional displays, but I was desperate and it had worked well enough.

Following that successful interaction, Yukinoshita was in a better mood than usual. Perhaps it was the fact that our relationship had reached a new level, or the gentle afternoon breeze that wafted in through the window; whatever it was, it made the clubroom seem more like a sanctuary than a base of operations. Warm sunlight spilled onto the floor in wavering patches. Two students sat in silence, contentedly perusing pure Japanese Literature...

Then Yuigahama walked in, followed by Hayama Hayato.

In that moment, the room froze and crystallised into a battleground. Yuigahama stood, unmoving, as Hayama smiled disarmingly behind her. Yukinoshita tensed in her seat, poised to strike . Every movement, every breath, even every twitch of the eye seemed to match the ticking of the clock. The tension in the room grew almost tangible.

A moment formed by virtue of my orchestration. If only it could last forever... nevertheless, I burned its image into my mind before raising my hand casually in greeting.

"Yo. You need something?"

The remaining three occupants of the room snapped out of their trance. Being the first to recover, Yuigahama laughed nervously. "Hayato-kun asked me if he could see us, but I don't exactly know what he intended to do..." As she spoke, I noticed that she casually moved to place her hand on the handle of the sliding door, no doubt to use the force of a hundred-kilo wooden weight on the sole occupant of the doorway if things got ugly.

 _Man, girls are scary._

Unaware of his impending bodily destruction, Hayama chuckled, purposefully injecting lightheartedness into his voice. "It's nothing much, really. I just have something to discuss with this club."

As Hayama stepped forward slowly but deliberately, Yukinoshita's hand slid inconspicuously into her pocket. _Oi, what exactly do you plan to do after you knock him out? Don't solve everything with violence!_

As if mocking us, our greatest named adversary halted his footsteps just millimetres away from the edge of Yukinoshita's attacking range and stood ramrod still, locking his gaze with ours. Tension reached breaking point...

Then he executed a perfect ninety-degree bow. "I need your help."

...

...

Yukinoshita's eyes narrowed. "Absolutely no- ow!"

"Absolutely," I repeated, withdrawing my foot and gesturing to the chair we reserved for clients. "Have a seat."

The almighty figurehead of Sobu High tentatively complied. I leaned forward onto the desk, steepling my fingers and gazing dispassionately at him until he began to fidget nervously in his seat. The art of negotiation had been a crucial skill to master for my previous conquests, and it demanded instant domination of your opponent's subconscious. This was where "Politician's Desk" (rated 47 out of 108) had been extremely useful.

"Your problem," I prompted. He jolted awake.

"Ah, r-right! It's about the nasty chain-mail that's been going around recently. About my friends. You've read it, right?"

Yukinoshita tilted her head inquisitively. "A recent chain-mail? I haven't heard of it."

"Neither have I," I confirmed.

"You haven't? But it was circulated throughout the student body, probably with the exception of Group F... ah, right. Sorry." he laughed nervously at the sight of our blank stares. "Basically someone's wrote that email with the intention of slandering three of my close friends. I initially wanted to let school administration handle this problem, but I'd prefer it if the investigation were kept under wraps, so-"

"I see, now," hissed Yukinoshita. "You are looking down on us, correct? In your eyes we are nothing but an insignificant organisation that completes the tasks that the school management will never do."

 _I get what you're trying to say, but isn't that exactly what we are?_ _Also..._

Hayama watched as the Service Club's high and mighty club president squeaked and clutched her shin for the second time that day, something akin to concern in his eyes. He knew how much my kicks hurt, after all.

I leaned back, grinning internally when Hayama instinctively relaxed. "So basically you want us to smoke this guy out?"

"Yes, please," he replied. His voice retained its cheerfulness, but all of a sudden it had a malicious undertone to it. "And don't worry about what happens afterward. My friends and I will handle the rest."

Yuigahama shivered and Yukinoshita tensed instinctively, both of them wholly convinced that some unlucky chap had pissed off the great Hayama Hayato and was going to pay the price for it.

Unfortunately for them, this person didn't exist. Everything was going according to plan.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1400 hours]**

In my battle against the Service Club so far, they had always won by unexpected means. It had not taken me much contemplation to find the source of this irregularity.

The human heart.

The one thing I had never been able to fit into my calculations, the one thing I had been suppressing my means of hard control and domination, and the one source of my defeat. Human emotion was truly unpredictable, and the Service Club had utilized it to turn the tables against me in mere moments. In retrospect that was to be expected; all our clients were individuals with desires of their own. The moment we gave them the ability to fulfil these desires, they would naturally jump at the chance to solve their own problems.

However, this would not happen today. Hayama had no desires of his own that pertained to his request. In fact, the very basis of his request was fictional. As per my instruction he had fabricated this scenario, most likely circulating the chainmail himself, all just to give the Service Club a task that they wouldn't be able to accomplish.

Even so, why did he choose to write an email concerning the members of Group S? Those were the students that Yukinoshita would be the least willing to help...

 _Oh, right. I haven't told him that we're a rebellious organisation._

 _Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, prepare yourselves! Out of nowhere, you've been given an impossible task by Hayama Hayato himself, and you know what happens to those who fail him... Now let's see, how will you act in the face of extreme pressure?_

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1405 hours]**

"Let's get started, then," announced Yukinoshita. "Hikigaya-kun, would you happen to know which three friends Hayama-kun was referring to?"

"Um... I'm still here, you know. You could have asked me-"

"Tobe-kun, Yamato-kun and Ooka-kun!" Yuigahama chimed in, fully aware that Yukinoshita was prepared to ignore her unless she made herself useful.

"All from Group S, I see. So it was likely to be one of the three who wrote that email, in order to slander the other two and elevate his own social status."

Correction: Yukinoshita was prepared to ignore her even if she made herself useful.

"Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita continued, whipping out a clipboard. "Give me a brief breakdown of their personalities so that we can identify a main suspect."

"Um... their closest friend is right here, you know. Why don't you ask me-"

"Tobe-kun is cheerful and talkative, Yamato-kun is quiet but reliable, and Ooka-kun only speaks at crucial moments!" Yuigahama interjected, unfazed. _Why does your personality analysis only involve the way they behave in conversations? You don't really interact with them much, do you?_

"Loud and abrasive, silent and withdrawn, cold and calculative..." Yukinoshita mumbled, scribbling furiously. _Oi, that sounds a little different from what she said!_

Hayama seemed to be at a loss for words. He'd spent ages dealing with Group F students and interacting with Yuigahama, but this was probably a new experience for him.

Yukinoshita sighed and set her clipboard down. "Honestly speaking, any of them could be the culprit. Looks like we'll have to interrogate them individually, then. Hikigaya-kun, take the minutes."

"Right!" cheered Yuigahama. "Let's go- hey, wait up!"

 _Ironically, this club probably would probably ruin itself without my interference_ , I thought as I trudged through the door Hayama was holding open for me. _Looks like it's going to be a long day..._

 **[Interrogation Minutes of Kakeru Tobe, 19th June, 1415 hours]**

Yukinoshita: Good afternoon. If we may have a moment of your time?

Tobe: Hey Irohasu, you listenin' to me or what? Like I said, I had this really cool-

Unknown Girl: I knooooow, Tobe-senpai. You've told me about it already.

Yukinoshita: Excuse me-

Tobe: Huh? When?

Unknown Girl: Half a minute ago, Tobe-senpai. You've been telling it to everyone you see.

Yukinoshita [more than a little annoyed]: Can you-

Tobe: Anyway, let's swing by Lion Sports laters! I need some badminton equipment, chop-chop!

Unknown Girl [sighs]: We're in the football team, Tobe-senpai.

Hayama [whispering]: Hang on, Tobe-kun. I told you to make it hard for them, but you can't just ignore them completely!

Unknown Girl [brightening up immediately]: Oh, Hayama-senpai! What brings you here?

Hayama [laughing nervously]: Ah, nothing much. We're just here to ask if Tobe-kun has any idea about who could have written the chainmail that's been going around recently...

Unknown Girl: You heard that, Tobe-senpai? Now _**hurry up and speak, maggot!**_

Tobe: Owowow okay okay I'll talk!

Yuigahama [mumbling]: What a day...

***Note: The rest of this interrogation consists of pointless blabbering and does not need to be recorded***

 **[Interrogation Minutes of Ooka, 19th June, 1430 hours]**

Yukinoshita: That was a disaster. So our next target is...

Ooka: HuuuuuUUUH? Whaddya want?

Hayama [massaging his temples]: They haven't even approached you yet...

Yukinoshita: I wasn't talking to you, but perfect timing. Would you mind-

Ooka [trying and failing to distort his face]: HuuuuuUUUH? What was that? Speak louder, bitc... ugh, this is hard.

Yuigahama: Ooka-kun, if you don't mind me asking... what exactly are you trying to do?

Ooka: Didn't you know? Hayama gave us these new orde- mppphhhhh!

Hachiman [mumbling]: So much for waiting for the right time to speak.

[Hayama pulls Ooka aside. Hushed conversation ensues.]

Ooka [Barely audible]: ...oh. What's my character supposed to be like, then?

[Hushed conversation ends after 2 lengthy minutes of discussion]

Ooka: Uh... right, okay. Ask away, then.

Yukinoshita: Wonderful. Now, I'm sure you are aware of a chain email that has been sent to a great portion of the student body, slandering you and your two friends?

Ooka: ...

Yukinoshita: I'll take that as a yes. It pains me to inform you that you are under suspicion for being its source. Do you have anything to say for yourself?

Ooka: ...

Yukinoshita: Any defensive protests? Any ideas on who to shift the blame to? Perhaps a confession?

Ooka: ...

[Hayama pulls Ooka aside. Hushed conversation ensues.]

Ooka [barely audible]: I dunno! What is the "crucial moment" for me to speak anyway?

[Hushed conversation continues]

Ooka [slightly more audible]: That's not even part of my character! Who said that about me?

[Hushed conversation continues for approximately 15 seconds]

Ooka: Yui, you've known me for like, what, a year? I can't believe you've done this.

Yuigahama [sheepishly]: Eheheh...

Ooka: Anyway, I didn't do it. That's all I know.

Yukinoshita [sighing]: That took ten minutes. Let's move on...

 **[Interrogation Minutes of Yamato, 19th June, 1445 hours]**

Yukinoshita: Pardon me, we're from the Service Club and we're conducting an investigation concerning the slanderous chainmail that was circulated last week.

Yamato: ...

Yuigahama: Yamato-kun?

Yamato: ...

Yukinoshita: Alright, Enough is Enough! Why is it that _every single one_ of you vermin _refuses_ to aid an investigation that concerns all of you? I've just had _enough_ of your degenerate, _elitist_ ways-

Hayama: I think he's sleeping, Yukinoshita-san.

[Silence for about 10 seconds]

Yukinoshita: What, with his eyes open?

Yuigahama: That's so cool! Let me try!

Hayama: Yeah... he does that sometimes. Mostly during Japanese Literature.

Hachiman: That's pretty relatable, actually. Hiratsuka-sensei is the easiest teacher to fall asleep to.

Hayama: No, I meant that he has to sleep with his eyes open because Hiratsuka-sensei is the only teacher who would punch him if he sleeps with his eyes closed.

Hachiman: That's pretty relatable too.

Yukinoshita: Could you wake him up? Our investigation is crucial.

Hayama: Sorry. Once he's in this state, he's gone until the next period.

Yukinoshita [sighing]: I guess we'll have no progress with him either, then. Let's go, Hikigaya-kun.

Hayama: What about Yui? Come on Yui, let's go.

Yukinoshita [hopefully]: Is she incapacitated?

Hachiman: Oh. She's done it.

Hayama: What? What's going on? She's not responding at all...

Hachiman: She's sleeping with her eyes open.

Yukinoshita [mildly impressed]: She learned it in such a short time?

Hachiman: Such is the mark of a genius. If only she applied that to her cooking...

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1430 hours]**

"That was a disaster," declared Yukinoshita. "I'll be retiring for the day. Hikigaya-kun, think of how we can further our investigation and tell me tomorrow. Don't disappoint me, now." With that unreasonable request, she swept out of the classroom. The door clicked shut.

Hayama waited until her footsteps in the hallway faded before turning to me. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"My friends and I put up a pretty dismal performance today which probably went against your objective."

My right eyebrow arched upwards. "And what did you think my objective was?"

"Some stimulation for your club, I guess. To see how they would react."

I hummed. "Correct, but not quite. Hey, Hayama."

"Yes?" _Ever the loyal subordinate. It's so hard to tell what you're thinking sometimes._

"What do you think about this? Me suddenly joining a club and doing all sorts of meaningless things."

Hayama chose his words carefully, watching my expression for the slightest reaction. "I would think... that you are trying to establish another hierarchy, starting from the bottom of the social ladder."

I smirked. "Good idea, but it's a little simpler than that."

I was expecting puzzlement. Perhaps a polite question or two. But all Hayama did was lower his head in acceptance. "Whatever it is, I'll support you."

Control was power. Nobody in this rotten school knew that better than me. And yet, even being regarded with this unwavering loyalty, what was this hollow emptiness that I felt in my heart?

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1500 hours]**

As soon as the sound of Hayama's footsteps in the hallway faded, Yukinoshita entered the clubroom.

Through the window.

 _I knew that you'd go to great lengths to achieve your goals, but..._ "What the hell, Yukinoshita."

She shot me a partly annoyed, partly inquisitive look. "This was the most effective way to avoid contact with our enemies completely. I couldn't let them see our equipment, after all."

"Equipment?" But Yukinoshita was already setting up a laptop and a hard drive on the desk. "Wait... you have _hacking equipment?_ "

"Naturally. How else would one track down the origin of a chain mail?" As she spoke, she lifted one of the floorboards to reveal a pile of miscellaneous equipment and procured a disc labelled 'VIRUSES [Electronic]' and set it on the table as well.

 _What... what the hell. This day can't get any stranger, can it?_

I watched as Yukinoshita booted up her laptop and started up a disruptive software, the gears in my head spinning wildly. At this rate, Yukinoshita was going to track down the origin of the message, which was most likely Hayama's phone. And although Hayama had a few talented hackers at his disposal, there was no way he could have anticipated this development and prepared against it accordingly. Were my plans about to come to naught?

 _No. Focus._ To begin with, what would happen if Yukinoshita realised the chain mail was created by Hayama himself? She would know that this entire request was a setup, and that Hayama had purposely risked the reputation of his comrades to challenge the Service Club. Nevertheless, discovering that fact would not do her any good; in fact, it was safe to assume that she had been expecting it already. If anything, the knowledge that there was no true solution to this problem would double the pressure placed on her shoulders.

 _Not the win I would have wanted, but this works too._ I watched as Yukinoshita's fingers flew over the keyboard. Thousands of digits seemed to converge into eight, forming a lone phone number on the screen...

"Wait a sec. That's not Hayama's number!"

"So you were thinking the same thing? I'm just as surprised as you are," Yukinoshita mused, sinking back into her chair. "Perhaps he sent the chain mail from a different phone so we wouldn't be able to track him down."

So he did anticipate this development, after all. Over the sound of Yukinoshita's furious typing I said "We can't do anything about it, then. We only know the phone number, but we can't track its owner down."

"On the contrary," Yukinoshita said, "This phone appears to have a GPS." A overhead map of the school appeared on the screen, the location of the perpetrator's phone marked by a glowing red dot.

I felt a momentary pang of unease. I had specifically instructed Hayama to give the Service Club an unsolvable task, so why was he going out of his way just to drop so many hints?

"Right. I'll go smoke the culprit out. Hikigaya-kun, you can stay here and inform me if he moves." From underneath the loose floorboard, Yukinoshita took two walkie-talkies and tossed one to me. _Just how prepared is this woman?_

Nonetheless, the discomfort I felt was hard to shake. "Hey, Yukinoshita. I don't think you should."

Two puzzled cerulean eyes turned to face me. "Why not?"

"It could be a trap." Not that I was worried for her safety or anything, of course. But it would be a pity if my rival was put out of commission this early in the game.

Yukinoshita exhaled, making a sound somewhere between a sigh and a giggle. "Despite its connections to the underground, this is a school, Hikigaya-kun. The things they could do to me are limited to deconstruction of my social status, and I have none to speak of. I'll be just fine."

 _She has a point there... I don't think Hayama will do anything serious to her, anyway._

I dipped my head in acknowledgement. "Fine. Just... be careful, okay?"

She coughed. "R-right." Her cheeks seemed to gain a red tint, but I knew better; no girl had ever reacted to anything I said in that way, and no girl ever would.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 19th June, 1530 hours]**

I slipped through the shadows, avoiding contact with any teacher or student. My enemies could be anywhere, and underestimating the influence of Group S would certainly spell doom for the club.

"How's the target? Any movement?"

"None," Hikigaya-kun's reply came with a crackle of static. "He's still at the same place behind the gym."

For my target to conveniently leave his phone's GPS on and stay at such a secluded location, this was definitely a trap. But if I wanted information or any sort of leverage against Hayama Hayato, walking straight into this pitfall was a small price to pay.

Upon reaching the specified location, I slid behind a pillar and peered cautiously. Sure enough, a cellphone lay inconspicuously on the ground and I could sense four people concealing themselves in the surrounding area. They appeared to be performing a sort of chant, their mumbling a low buzz that barely reached my ears.

Now, what to do? These individuals were clearly planning to ambush me the moment I approached the phone. Even if I subdued them, the chance to obtain information would be lost.

"I've located the phone," I mumbled. "It appears I've found some undesirable company as well, however."

"Yeah, I can hear them from here," Hikigaya-kun hissed back. "Are they saying something?"

I heightened my senses. Even then the chanting was barely audible, but I could make out the words.

"...For Ou-sama. For our Kingdom. We will do anything it takes."

"They appear to be some sort of cult," I mumbled. "They're saying something about a king. I don't really know what's going on either..."

There was silence on the other end of the communication line, then Hikigaya-kun spoke up in a hushed yet frantic tone. "I don't like this, Yukinoshita. Get out of there as fast as you ca-"

"No."

"Huh? Are you crazy? Get out of there before they see you!"

"It's a little too late for that, don't you think, honey?" I whipped around. Standing before me was a thin and wiry boy, his face framed by chestnut bangs and obscured by a baseball cap. His uniform was unkempt and his posture lax, an indication of the identity of a delinquent. An abnormally large metal baseball bat was slung over his shoulder. "Now turn off that walkie-talkie if you know what's good for ya."

 _How did he get behind me without me noticing? He would have to conceal his presence perfectly!_ This was clearly not an ordinary student. Hesitantly, I deactivated the device.

The boy studied me carefully, face hidden by shadows. "Ou-sama told me that one of Hayama's lackeys would show up, but I've never seen your face before. You from Group F or something?"

Information exchange is a give-and-take process. I twisted my face into a slight smile. "Yes. You're awfully perceptive. I'm afraid didn't catch your name, though."

His face inclined upwards, revealing a mouth full of shark-like teeth. "I didn't throw it, darlin'. So you're not working for Group S, huh..." His grip around the bat tightened.

This was it. It was unlikely that I would get any information out of him, and he had proved himself to be hostile and dangerous. I had no choice but to incapacitate him...

"Fine, fine. You want info? I'll give you my name, then." I started. How did he do that? It was almost as if he read my mind. "I used to be a lowly student from Group C, but Ou-sama made me into the man I am today. Now I'm Rook, Ou-sama's strongest powerhouse. Nice to meet ya!" He held his hand out in greeting.

My eyes narrowed. "How useful do you expect that information to be? It's just an alias!"

"Never said I'd give you my _real_ name," he pouted. "Fine, fine. I'll let you ask one question."

"You didn't say you were going to answer it, did you?"

He threw his head back and laughed, a wheedling, high-pitched noise that sounded like the static from my transceiver. "Damn straight! I guess you'll be asking me a rhetorical question now, sweetheart?"

I smirked, sliding my hand into my pocket. Two could play at this game. "Just one question, then. Do you know what chloroform smells like?"

I lunged. His laughter was the last thing I heard.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1545 hours]**

I watched the red blip on the screen disappear unassumingly, resisting the urge to hyperventilate.

Yukinoshita was taken. Yukinoshita was taken by a bunch of guys who weren't Hayama's goons. Yukinoshita was taken and it was all my fault.

 _What the hell is going on? No, wait. Calm down. Panicking isn't going to get you anywhere. Why are you so concerned about her safety in the first place, anyway? Think. A group completely unrelated to Hayama: from what I heard it seemed to be some sort of cult. They somehow seemed to know where the origin of the chain mail was. Why is that?_

 _..._

Furious, I whipped out my phone.

Hayama picked up after two rings this time, which meant he definitely did not want to speak to me. This did not help the raging emotions in my chest.

"Explain yourself," I snapped, before he could get a single word in.

"R-right. As you might have figured out, I wasn't the one who sent that chain mail."

"Then who did?"

"I don't know either! We've been investigating it since it appeared, but for some reason our hacker Yamato started sleeping way more regularly so we made minimal progress..."

 _Ah, that guy who was sleeping with his eyes open._ "I don't care about that," I hissed. "I told you to give the Service Club an unsolvable problem. One of _your own orchestration_."

"It was, in a way..." he ventured meekly. "I planned to take your club on a wild goose chase investigating my friends while finishing up the actual investigation on my own."

A feral growl tore its way out of my chest. "And look how well _that_ went. Yukinoshita found the perpetrators before you!"

"What? But we've been trying to track them down for days!"

In retrospect, there was no way that our investigation should have been that simple. If these people were capable of nullifying the efforts of Group S's hacker, the fact that Yukinoshita had found them meant that they had deliberately created an opening in their defenses. No doubt they had been expecting minions of the school administration to come knocking on their door. Instead, they had caught one Yukinoshita Yukino.

 _No matter how you look at it, this situation is problematic for me. I should have seen this coming..._

I inhaled deeply. "Yukinoshita was taken at the area behind the gym, so she's being held either at the gym or the storeroom. Send your goons to subdue those guys. I don't want a single one of them to escape."

"Yes, sir."

"And run a detailed background check on every one of your subordinates. Especially your most trusted ones."

Thick silence reigned on the other end of the line. Hayama was pissed. "You call the loyalty of my friends into question?"

"These guys have managed to stay off your radar for a significant period of time, haven't they? There's only one logical explanation for that."

"...yes, sir."

"Especially that Yamato guy. I find it highly suspicious that he would mysteriously contract insomnia right when your investigation started."

" _Yes, sir."_

I ended the call and straightened up. I had some beating-down to do.

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 19th June, 1600 hours]**

Tobe-kun regarded my prone form when he walked into the classroom with no small amount of surprise; clearly he hadn't expected me to be there. AFter reaching the conclusion that I was asleep, he crept past me towards Yamato-kun's sleeping figure.

"Tobe-kun? What're you doing to Yamato-kun?"

As expected, he yelped and jolted in response to my seemingly harmless question. "Yui? Nothing much, really. Hayato-kun instructed me to move this lug to class 2-E, that's all."

"Oh. That's it?"

His breathing stabilised. "Yeah. That's it. You should come with us too, actually. Hayato-kun's running a background check on every one of us."

I blinked. "Did something happen?"

His nervousness was palpable, not that I could blame him. "Y-yeah, apparently he thinks there's a mole in our group." He grunted as he lifted Yamato-kun's body and settled the weight on his shoulder.

 _That would be me, actually... but I don't think I'm the only one. Neither do I think I'm the one that Hayato-kun is searching for this time._

"I see. By the way, Tobe-kun."

"Yeah?"

" _Why do you have a taser in your pocket?"_

Time froze. I gripped the table leg that I had extracted earlier. I wouldn't be able to beat Tobe-kun (or any boy, actually) in a physical confrontation, but now his hands were full with Yamato. I had him just where I wanted him.

A nervous chuckle. "Yui? What's with that scary tone? You know I always carry it around, right? For self defense and all that."

I smiled slightly. "How about the sleeping pills that you've been adding to Yamato-kun's bento recently? Do you carry those around for self defense too?"

Yamato-kun's sleeping form slid to the ground. "I see," mumbled Tobe-kun. "You're the one who ratted me out, eh?"

"I could have, but I didn't," I replied as his hand slid into his pocket. "I don't know why you're doing all this, but please stop it. This isn't like you, Tobe-kun."

Tobe-kun let out a bark of laughter as he drew his taser out. "You don't know why I'm doing this? Well, I'll tell you. Ou-sama wants to build a new kingdom atop the ashes of this rotten school. And to do that, we'll start by devastating all the members of Group S. That includes you, Yui!"

Clenching the table leg, I rushed forward to meet him as he lunged.

 _Ou-sama? Who's that? Well, I'll worry about that later. For now, focus on getting the taser out of his hand! If I can just land one hit on his wrist, he won't be able to use the taser anymore and I should be able to hit the back of his head-_

But the taser was no longer in Tobe-kun's hand. As it clattered to the floor, two hands fastened themselves around my neck.

"This isn't like me? How _dare_ you say that," he snarled as black spots swam before my eyes. "How would you know what I'm really like, anyway? If not for Ou-sama I would just be another worthless Group C student!"

Tobe-kun's eyes burned with a calm yet raging flame, the kind that I would see in Yukinoshita-san's eyes when she was cornered. More than Yukinoshita-san's hatred for the school administration, this was his strong, blind faith in this Ou-sama person. If that was the case, trying to convince him was probably not going to work. That didn't mean I was going to stop trying, though.

"Tobe...kun," I croaked. "The one I know... is not like this..."

"The Kakeru Tobe you knew never existed," he said, as my vision slowly faded to black. "My name is Knight."

 **Author's note: uh... It's been a while, huh?**


	6. Chapter 6

**[Yuigahama Yui, 19th June, 1630 hours]**

My head hurt. My tongue felt like sandpaper. I couldn't feel my fingers.

 _Where am I?_ As I gradually swam to the surface of consciousness, I was vaguely aware of muffled voices that reached my ears.

"...no choice! She discovered my-"

"Due to your own incompetence. Don't forget that."

Not bothering to wait for my vision to clear up, I ignored the spikes of pain in my skull and tried shifting my weight around. Unfortunately, it appeared I was tied to a chair.

"Don't get so full of yourself! What's it to you, anyway?"

"Ou-sama put me in charge of you louts, so everything that goes wrong falls on me. Alright? I have a right to know. Looks like she's up."

This seemed to be the gymnasium. A crowd of murmuring students milled around the various chunks of equipment, focusing their collectively undivided attention on the area around me. To my right stood Tobe-kun and a dark haired boy who I didn't know. To my left...

I gasped.

"So you _do_ know her," droned the dark-haired boy, casually laying an arm on the shoulder of Yukinoshita-san's unconscious form. She was bound to a chair, just like me. "I was wondering what a student from Group F was snooping around for, but turns out she was one of your henchmen all along, huh."

"Oh, it's not like that," I replied, keeping my voice as light as possible. "We're just in the same club."

His face fascinated me. Objectively it was a boring face, one that you would see on every average person around. However, there was such a look of resignation in his dull grey eyes that the shadows within seemed to swallow up his entire countenance. He turned to me, his eyes two skeptical vortexes that seemed to bore into my soul. Just like Hikki, this boy had probably seen some horrible days, but unlike Hikki who had hardened his eyes into chips of diamond this boy had resigned to his suffering and let the light in his eyes disappear along with the fragments of his soul. Despite the situation, I felt sorry for him.

"Don't screw with us, wench!" screamed Tobe-kun. I couldn't really blame him; he was in a pretty tight spot because of me. The moment Hayama-kun noticed I was missing would be the moment Tobe-kun's fate was sealed. Not to mention the fact that Hikki would come for Yukinoshita-san any minute now...

"Shut up," commanded the dark haired boy tiredly, before turning back to me. "Welcome to our base of operations. I am Ou-sama's chief strategian, Bishop. Right now we are keeping you as a hostage to bargain with Hayama Hayato, so don't think you'll be leaving just yet."

"Bargain? Hah!"

A wheedling cackle burst out from the shadows beside me, and a lanky chestnut-haired boy strode out. _What's going on? I didn't sense his presence at all! And is that a baseball bat?_

The boy casually swung said baseball bat over his shoulder to point it straight at me. "Yo, sugar. Don't even try to escape, got it? I'll kill you, seriously."

"This is Rook, our only decent combatant," Bishop continued, sounding extremely fatigued. "And I believe you've met Knight already."

I nodded, opting not to say anything until I'd gotten a better grasp of the situation. Noticing that I was awake, the crowd of students wandering about the gym had stopped whatever they were doing to stare intensely at me. "Um, I don't really play chess, but are you guys named-"

"Yes, yes we are," sighed Bishop immediately, as if he had been anticipating the question. "Ou-sama said it was to mask our identities... or something." His answer was satisfactory but vague, meaning he was probably on guard not to let slip any information about the shady group I'd just been kidnapped by.

"Like anyone would bother remembering the names of a bunch of Group C students, anyway!" cackled Rook. Pointedly ignoring Bishop's disapproving look, he leered at me. "Hey, sheltered girl. Ya probably started from Group B, right? Most people at this school do. You fought like a shark and got to the top, good for ya. But you know what happens to those who fail? Those who you people trampled without lookin' back? That's us. Stamped into the dust like the little worms we are."

The murmuring of the students all around us had been a dry, unpleasant hum, much like a swarm of bees. As Rook's speech continued and his voice rose with every word, a collective growl seemed to rise up from the crowd, a low vibration that clung to the air.

"Group F has it _easy_. They've messed up more than once, the school hates them, and they don't _care_. What about us, huh? Hanging between a trash life and a trash death, where a small poke decides everything. The fear of making just one mistake, the hope of getting just one recommendation... it's Hell. _Hell_ , I tell ya!"

He spat, slamming his baseball bat into the metal wall. The crowd snarled. If not for fear of the madman wildly swinging in front of me, I had a feeling they would have lynched me and Yukinoshita-san by now.

"Yeah, I know Ou-sama's just using us for his own selfish gain." Upon hearing some of the students gasp Rook whirled around to face them. "Yeah, I mean it! Get it into that thick skulls of yours. We're just pieces in his big game. But you know why we fight for him? You know why? You. You know why?"

The unlucky sacrifice was a bespectacled girl, who yelped as the metal bat swung down to point at her. "Uh, um... because we respect him?"

"Wrong!" Rook roared, making a dent in the wall with his bat. The girl shrieked, instinctively shielding her face with both hands. The dreaded metal bat swung down again to arrow a boy at the front. "How about you. You know why?"

"Because we'll do anything for him!" declared the brave soul, puffing out his chest in unwavering confidence and loyalty.

"Wrong!" screamed the tyrant, slamming his bat onto the ground to create an impact so strong that chunks of the gymnasium floorboards pelted the boy's chest. Bishop and Tobe-kun watched impassively as the poor boy collapsed amidst a thick cloud of dust, clutching at his ribs and coughing blood. Nobody tried to help him.

"Last chance before I go crazy, y'all. Now. How about..." His bat swung around slowly, until it was less than three inches from my face. "...you."

Something unpleasant coiled in my gut, twisting upward to claw at my windpipe and exhume poison through my lungs through my increasingly shallow breaths. Rage, I realised.

There was a collective holding of breath. All of the students had come to the realisation that I was a valued hostage, but Rook would kill them all without a shred of hesitation if his mood dictated it. And the potent fear on each one of their faces enraged me further.

Staring down the lethal metal bat, I didn't care about my life or anything of the sort. I wanted to scream at him for valuing his comrades so little. I wanted to make him apologise to the boy he'd just injured. And staring at the bitter malice and rage in his eyes, I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him that everything would turn out okay.

 _But not everyone can get everything we want, right? Not you, not me, not Hayato-kun, not even the mastermind who's doing all this. It's a cruel world full of good people who fight a futile battle for happiness with all their might. And when they don't get it, what happens then?_

"I think I know," I said. "You fight for your King because he's all you have left, right?"

The bat never left it's position, but his lack of reaction told me I was right. In the midst of the group of puzzled enemies and unconscious allies, I bowed my head and started to cry.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1700 hours]**

Clinging to the rafter, I willed my palms to refrain from producing even a slightest bit of perspiration. One small slip was all it would take; if the fall from the gymnasium roof didn't kill me, the brainwashed drones down below certainly would. Sneaking around like this certainly was not my style, but the cultish gang down below had two hostages (one, as far as I was concerned) and I needed them back to continue... whatever had I been doing, again?

Establishing another social hierarchy from the bottom of the social ladder? Finding something to fight for? Validating my ideals and existence? Maybe all. Maybe none. Either way, this was exactly why I was hanging above a bunch of disgruntled, religious maniacs, currently putting my full trust in a creaking wooden beam fifteen metres above ground level.

 _Actually, what the hell am I doing?_

As far as I could sense with my restricted field of vision, Yuigahama was skilfully stalling for time with an emotional display. With the way those goons were gawking at her it seemed to be working, but I was fairly sure lengthy conversation could have sufficed. What was the point of putting up such a big show of crying her heart out? Even I was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Somehow I had a feeling that she wasn't just stalling for time, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt anyway. No member of group S could be that weak.

 _Speaking of which, here come my reinforcements._

The group below only seemed to have one hardened fighter (the one with the baseball bat), but even he was in no position to take Hayama on in his tumultuous emotional state. If Hayama brought enough backup with him there hopefully wouldn't be a need for me to step in...

The gymnasium doors slammed open.

"Freeze!" boomed Hiratsuka-sensei. She was flanked by five sizeable security guards and no one else. "We received a report of unlawful assembly in here, so all of you are coming with us! Now, nobody move!"

A hundred pairs of eyes swivelled to face her. For lack of anything better to do, they simply stared.

Hiratsuka-sensei laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish expression on her face. "Ah, um. When I said 'Nobody move' just now I didn't actually expect nobody to move, y'know. You guys could be a little livelier..."

Silence reigned in the gymnasium. The face of a security guard contorted briefly as he stifled a sneeze, as if afraid to shatter the brittle air. Somebody in the midst of the crowd let out a light, embarrassed cough.

"Could you guys at least _act_ like normal rebellious students or something?" barked Hiratsuka-sensei. This woman was pretty tough, if nothing else. "I've been waiting _so long_ for this moment! Practiced my lines on the way here and everything!"

She was evidently used to bulldozing her way through awkward social situations such as this. As she ranted on about having trained her Fist of Justice for this very moment, the mass of Group C students shrunk back. Not out of fear, but of sheer embarrassment. From the deepest depths of my heart, a shred of sympathy produced itself.

 _Anyway... sacrificing a teacher to test the waters before stepping in personally, huh?_ Sometimes I wished Hayama would act a little differently from me. At any rate, my plan of sitting back and watching the show was souring by the minute. Keeping in mind not to make any sudden movements, I began my descent.

"Now, who will taste my Fist of Justice? Come at me, don't be shy!"

"No need for that, lady."

The chestnut-haired baseball maniac stepped forward, eyes narrowed to reptilian slits. Despite his hostile countenance, his mouth was twisted into a grin. Killing intent oozed from his figure, and three out of five of the security guards stiffened instinctively.

"Oh?" sneered Hiratsuka-sensei. "Good to see one of you has guts, I suppose. Think you can beat a bunch of grown adults down, do you? What's your name?"

 _Yes, actually. We have three mafia goons, two clueless lumps of muscle and one oblivious teacher. I'd say a minute will be enough._

The maniac slammed his bat into the ground, creating a shockwave and raising a thick cloud of dust. Allowing gravity to carry me through the remaining distance between my body and the ground, I slid along the gymnasium wall into the darkest shadow in the area, taking extra care to conceal my presence entirely. Now all that was left was waiting for the right moment to strike.

Snake-like eyes flicked upward and shark-like teeth bared downwards in a snarl. "Call me Rook, lady. And with such a ragtag bunch as my opponents, I'll take half a minute."

 _Looks like someone's getting ahead of himself._ I frowned. I did not particularly like individuals who defied my expectations, much less individuals who set their expectations above mine. The childishly spiteful part of me wished for Hiratsuka-sensei to somehow beat him down even though it wasn't possible.

Then again, this was the teacher courageous and capable enough to supervise a rebellious organisation, continuously waging war against Sobu High's airtight security and administration. Surely the airheaded appearance was just a front? Surely she knew what she was doing? Perhaps it was high time for me to have some more faith in friend and foe alike.

Correctly sensing that this was an enemy that should be eliminated as soon as possible, the three mafia thugs moved forward to attack, only to be stopped by a gesture from Hiratsuka-sensei. Her hands unfolded in what seemed to be a conciliatory gesture.

"Boy. I understand you're angry, but this isn't the way to fight."

Rook spat. "You? Understand? Don't bother, lady. Does a lap dog understand how a stray behaves? Sitting in his pen day and night, watching all those filthy mongrels fight and paw away in the rubbish heap. You think we _like_ to live this way, don't you?"

"I'm not as sheltered as you think, you damn brat," snapped Hiratsuka-sensei. "So what if I don't understand you completely? I-"

"You got it wrong from the start," scoffed Rook. "I'm not doing this cuz I'm _angry_ , ya know." With malice in his eyes and a grin on his face, he swung his bat upwards to casually rest it against his shoulder. "I just have nothing left to lose, that's all."

Hiratsuka-sensei sighed. "To say that with such a proud expression... you're a problem student, that's for sure."

Capable and compassionate as she might be, I wouldn't expect Hiratsuka-sensei to understand these students. Within the school's unforgiving system, Group C students were the doubly unforgiven; too helpless to be noticed by the upper caste, and too unremarkable to be pushed to rock bottom. These were the ones who had seen the cruelty and filth that humans could ever display. The ones who saw the light at the end of the tunnel every single day, yet knew that they would never reach it. Hopeless degenerates, using whatever little power they had to inflict misery on those around them. Human scum.

 _Focus._

Just like me.

 _Focus._

I had worked so hard to shake off the oppressive restrictions that society had placed on me, yet I was still unable to overcome the chains within myself. In the end, how different was I from these people?

 _Focus!_

Forcefully, I displaced my attention back to the situation at hand. If I were in Hiratsuka-sensei's position, I would send the two normal security guards as fodder. Assuming the Rook took both of them out in one swing, I would get two of my remaining guards to restrict his movement, and assign the last one to sacrifice his body to grab onto the bat. Then in the approximately 0.76 seconds before he broke free, I would land a blow to his right temple, knocking him out with a probability of five percent. Of course, these were not reassuring odds.

"Have more faith in the people around you!" Shiromeguri-senpai would always exclaim in response to my complaints. "Be they friend or foe, you have to trust that they know what they're doing, right? Humans can't live properly otherwise."

 _I won't change the way you want me to, Shiromeguri-senpai. But I'll change, alright._

Then the woman whom all my hopes rested on cleared her throat and slowly turned around. "Right. Um, I dunno... just grab him."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, Date and Time unspecified]**

I had already become a social reject long before my high school debut. An outcast, shunned by adult and campus society. I had been ostracized by an abnormally large number of people, rejected by an unhealthy number of girls, and most importantly... well, there couldn't be anything more important than that, right?

If someone had told me I was going to be a heinous crime lord, micromanaging ten of Chiba's gangs, at least four of its drug routes and virtually all of its middle and high schools, I would have scoffed in their faces. My future was all planned out before me; much as I loathed to admit it, I was doomed to stay a social outcast for the rest of my life, floating around with no real purpose. To my entirely ambitionless existence, this was not a bad prospect.

However, this future devoid of expectation was in fact my solace. By indulging in this mediocre, marginally-worse-than-average life, I was shielding my eyes to the mountain of debt my family had incurred to various illegal organisations and the endless suffering my parents had borne in attempts to lessen the burden. They urged my younger sister and I to refrain from getting involved and I accepted happily, choosing monotony over despair.

I watched as my parents sacrificed more and more, spectated as my sister crumbled under the muted yet oppressive pressure that we were all meant to share. Even long past the point where I wanted to face the nightmarish reality that was my life, I realised that watching was the only option I had left. And silently, I resigned to it. I quietly averted my eyes as my parents made their final sacrifice, and my sister transformed into a hollow shell of what she once was. And yet, I would still have forgiven myself if Komachi and I had been beaten to death by hoodlums or starved to death on the street. There was nothing that could have been done, I told myself.

On the way back from our parents' funeral, Komachi got involved in a traffic accident. And who would have guessed? All I did was watch.

That day, I realised two things. Firstly, that this world is full of scum. Secondly, that I was no better than any of them. The violent gangs that destroyed her family, the driver of the car who didn't bother to stop after almost killing her, and the older brother who let go of her hand: all of them were rotten to the core, just in different ways.

That was when a little something in me reared its head. A life of mediocrity was no longer an option for Hikigaya Hachiman. He would proceed to obtain power just to abuse it, manipulate others for the mere sake of doing so, stabilize societies only to overturn them... fated to show the ignorant masses around him just how revoltingly despicable they all were.

There we go. The tragically anticlimactic conclusion of one sob story among millions.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1705 hours]**

Returning from my brief recollection, I surveyed the scene from my hiding spot. As expected, all five guards had been laid out flat on the ground, their bodies contorted in impossible ways. The stench of iron pervaded the air.

 _That didn't even take half a minute._

The Rook casually turned toward Hiratsuka-sensei. "You're gonna charge me too?"

Her face was a ghastly shade of white. "You... your movements... you're just a kid!"

"Stuff happens, lady. Look," he dropped his bat and mockingly spread out his arms in a mimicry of Hiratsuka-sensei's gesture from earlier. "I know you're not the fighting sort, okay? So I'll give you a chance to leave. Just deliver a message for us."

"...Go on."

Whatever little courage she had mustered vanished when Rook picked up his bat and slammed it into the ground in one swift motion. The crowd of Group C students flinched sympathetically.

"Tell Hayama Hayato that we're not leaving until he comes to chat. And that we've got his friends too."

This situation was a mess, I realised as Hiratsuka-sensei exited the gymnasium doors with her dignity barely intact. Not the fact that two of my clubmates were being held hostage; I had no doubt that Hayama would settle that when he arrived. However, in the span of time that occurred between, what exactly was I going to do?

At the moment I was perfectly hidden in the dark corner of the gymnasium, but in a spot that would demand instant attention the moment I stepped out. I could take on all the individuals present here if they charged me, but the discovery of my presence would no doubt cause them to act hastily, for instance retreating to another location. In short, the one who was compromising this operation the most was, in fact, myself.

 _I guess that's all the more reason to hide myself, then._ When lying in wait, one must always expect an ambush from inside the darkest shadows in the area and must hence conceal himself in the darkness first to greet anyone who comes in afterwards. Knowing this, I had fully expected an ambush when I concealed myself in this corner earlier, but it seemed my worry was for nothing. If these novices weren't even aware of this basic stratagem, hiding myself for a while longer was going to be easy.

In hindsight, these people didn't seem to be very intelligent planners. A few select personnel should have been selected for such a dangerous operation like this, yet they brought along a whole crowd of useless Group C students with them. They seemed to only have hired one decent fighter, most likely without researching the combat abilities of Hayama and his Group S friends. And knowing his heartless and calculative nature, did they actually think a few hostages were going to force him to listen to their demands? The only decently smart move that this Ou-sama person had made probably was refraining from being here in person.

The Rook sighed as he casually picked his bat up. "Still, I gotta say I'm not sure about this plan. I've seen Hayama Hayato around and he doesn't exactly seem like a pushover, y'know. Eh, Knight? You've known him for awhile now."

"Completely heartless," agreed the boy who had standing by Yuigahama's side all this time. I hadn't paid much attention to him, but now I immediately recognised him as the noisy buffoon always by Hayama's side. Tobe Kakeru, was it? I hadn't approved of his recommendation because he seemed like a complete idiot, but Hayama had claimed that he sensed great potential in him for reconnaissance and undercover work.

 _Well, he wasn't wrong... oh, the irony. Looks like we've got our mole right here._

"I don't think he'll even hesitate to cut us down even if we show him these people here," Tobe Kakeru the Knight continued. "We'll have to make it quick. But are you sure you can get it done, Bishop?"

"Absolutely," droned a voice from the other end of the gymnasium, as a black-haired boy stepped out from the shadows. "I've done stuff like this before, don't worry."

 _Since when... I didn't sense his presence!_ So they _had_ assigned someone to guard the dark corners of the area, and it was by sheer luck that I had not run into him when hiding here? My blood ran cold, and ran colder when the Bishop uncovered a gun from a hidden pocket in his school uniform.

A real gun.

It all became crystal clear to me in a few horrifying moments. Why they had brought so many people with them despite the fact that it would hinder them. Why they seemed so confident that they would be able to deal with Hayama. Why they seemed so unprepared to make demands.

This was not an operation or anything of the sort. It was a public execution. A ritual. These lunatics were displeased at the school's oppressive system and were willing to do anything to tear it down, even if it meant outright murder of its figurehead.

 _Oi, this is bad._

"Let's review the plan once again," droned the Bishop as he strolled across the gymnasium floor. The multitude of Group C students parted reverently to clear a path for him. "Knight will lure him toward the hostages. The moment he steps onto this area right here in the middle of the gym, Rook will let out a large amount of killing intent to distract him while all of you close up the surrounding area. Then I'll end it with a couple of shots to his head."

 _Really bad._

"Don't panic if he dodges and I end up hitting some of you instead," the Bishop continued, as he stopped his pacing right next to the spot where I was hiding. "Remember, we all owe our lives to Ou-sama and some of you dying today is a part of the plan anyway."

 _We're reaching levels of bad that shouldn't even be possible._

It was evidently time for a quick of change of plans. Before Hayama showed up and unknowingly got himself murdered, I would have to stop this assassination attempt even at the cost of the opportunity to apprehend all of these people. Since the Bishop was standing right next to me and was probably the only member of this group who knew how to handle firearms, all I needed to do was incapacitate him. With my 'Body Analysis' skill (rated 82 out of 108), I would easily locate the pressure points on his torso within less than half a second and-

The barrel of the gun was pointed straight at my head.

"I suppose you let your guard down since nobody was waiting for you in the darkest corner of the gym," droned the Bishop with a self-satisfied expression on his face. For the first time, my attention was drawn to his soulless eyes; two inky veils of shadow at first glance, but if you stared carefully enough, the demons within stared back at you. The expression of a madman. "But nobody does that, really. When lying in wait, you hide in the _second_ darkest corner to see who will hide in the darkest one. Don't get so full of yourself, you damn amateur."

The Knight's presence vanished from my senses, a taser was pressed up against my neck, and everything that happened afterward was just as expected.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 19th June, 1730 hours]**

I had expected myself to wake up in the infirmary or a pool of unconscious students with Hikigaya-kun attempting to violate my unconscious form like any healthy young male would. Instead, I woke up in the gymnasium bound to a chair. Yuigahama-san was restrained in a similar way on my right, and Hikigaya-kun was bound and lying on the floor to my left. Three menacing figures stood guard while a crowd of students stared at us with unnerving silence.

Evidently, several events had transpired while I was unconscious.

"Hikigaya-kun," I said. "You have performed below my expectations."

His face tilted upwards, and I caught the sight of blood on his face. "Right. Sorry. I let my guard dow-"

"After today I will have to call your sexual orientation into question."

"...what?"

I assumed that this gathering was some sort of gang or cult and the three individuals standing before me were the ringleaders, one of which I immediately recognised as my assailant. Rook, was it? Since he had implied that this group worked against the school administration, Kakeru Tobe from Group S, who was standing nervously by Yuigahama-san's side, was most likely a double agent. And the black-haired boy...

"You're up? Wonderful. I'm Bishop, and we have a good number of questions for you. You're not from any street group or gang, yet you seem to be trained in hand-to-hand combat. In addition, you have a boy from the mafia and a girl from Group S in your club. Care to explain?"

He appeared to be in charge of all the members present, and was most likely a strategist. Almost instinctively, my attention was drawn to the almost-invisible bulge in his uniform and the way half of his palm remained in his left shirt pocket.

To get to know my opponent as quickly as possible, I figured that I should start off by surprising him. "I understand that this school does not adhere to civil rights or the laws of Japanese society, but you do know that firearms are prohibited on campus, right?"

But instead of displaying my intended effect of shock, he merely let out a low whistle. "Trained by Japanese special ops, I see. That's one hell of a club we have here."

It appeared that trying to gain a grasp on the situation through conversation would simply result in me giving our captors more information without gaining any in return. In that case, I would have to use observation and inference instead.

These people had three hostages and only two chairs to tie them to. Naturally, this was because Hikigaya-kun and I were unintended hostages. In contrast, Yuigahama-san's capture had been planned from the start, but who was the second chair for? Another Group S student? In that case, they were planning to lure out the higher-ups to this location, and the gun was for-

"You seem to have figured everything out on your own, so I'll tell you anyway," said Bishop. "Yes, we are intending to assassinate Hayama Hayato and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Lunatics," mumbled Hikigaya-kun. Rook snarled before slugging him in the face and he choked reflexively. Bile rose in my throat as Hikigaya-kun coughed out a sizeable volume of blood, but I kept my face impassive. There were more important things at stake here.

"Don't worry," Bishop said. He wore a mildly amused expression on his face at the sight of Hikigaya-kun's suffering, and somehow it was this seemingly insignificant gesture that sent a chill down my spine. "Once we topple this school's rotten system from the top, you'll be able to live normal lives again. No need to be Hayama's special undercover squad anymore. Isn't that a win-win for everyone?"

"You're misunderstanding something," I shot back. "We're doing this of our own free will."

I watched his expression as the gears calmly turned in his head. "Is there some sort of benefit from being at the bottom of the caste that I don't know about?"

"We're not trying to _preserve_ this system," I hissed. "We're simply trying to live the lives we have." At this point, revealing that we were a rebellious organisation would be counterproductive. Even though this group's objectives matched ours somewhat, I could not foresee us joining forces at all.

Evidently he thought differently. "That's excellent, then!" he exclaimed, somehow managing to leave out all traces of surprise or excitement from his voice. "How about we cooperate? What we're doing is a crucial step towards a positive change, you know. With Ou-sama's guidance, we will be able to make this school _normal_ again. Doesn't that sound appealing?"

"Funny," spat Hikigaya-kun. "I could've _sworn_ I heard something about reforming the caste and establishing a new hierarchy-" His taunt was cut off by the repeated impact of Rook's fist to his solar plexus. I abruptly realised why Yuigahama-san had kept her mouth shut all this while.

"Well, it might go that way," said Bishop over the sound of Hikigaya-kun's pained coughing. "Honestly, nobody really knows what Ou-sama is thinking, but we serve him nonetheless. Rest assured that we won't forget your cooperation if you help us, though. Hierarchy or not, it's a good deal for you. Or are you restricted by a sense of Justice?"

I glared at him. "Something like that."

"Really? You seem awfully content with allowing things to stay the way they are, though."

I gritted my teeth. Although it pained me to hold my true intentions from this exceedingly annoying individual, there was nothing much I could do. "All I am saying is that I do not agree with your methods. No matter what atrocities he has committed, murdering a man is morally wrong by any definition."

"It is a pity," sighed Bishop, "that I will have to waste three extra bullets on your thick skulls."

The doors burst open. Like a lamb to the slaughter, Hayama Hayato had arrived with twenty or so security guards. For a brief moment, he caught Tobe Kakeru's eyes in an unreadable gaze.

Hayama Hayato stood at the pinnacle of Sobu High's campus, painstakingly hand-picking specialised individuals to stand by his side and investing abnormal amounts of time to cultivate their loyalty towards him. How would he react, I wondered, to being betrayed by one of his closest comrades despite all his efforts? Shock, anger, perhaps a pinch of regret?

But the gaze was broken as quickly as it was formed without so much as a twitch in Hayama-kun's facial muscles. Keeping a tight-lipped smile on his face, he stepped forward.

"I came to talk," was all he said.

"Is that so?" cackled Rook, picking up his bat and stepping away from Hikigaya-kun's panting form. "Come to the centre, and don't pull anything funny."

As Rook and Bishop both stepped towards the centre of the gymnasium and Tobe Kakeru nervously hovered in the shadows, I took the opportunity to sidle over to Hikigaya-kun's side.

"Are you alright?"

"Physically," he replied. "I'm sorry, Yukinoshita. I don't think I can stand up to these guys."

Clearly there was a psychological factor involved here; I had never seen him so downcast before. "I know they have the same objectives as us, but their methods are distasteful, not to mention unproductive," I tried. "In fact, I don't think they have even stopped to consider the possibility of a mastermind. Killing Hayama Hayato won't do anything for the school, you know that."

"It's not that,' he mumbled, maintaining his fetal position on the ground. "But I suppose you wouldn't understand."

The three adversaries had approached the centre of the gymnasium and seemed to be talking in semi-amiable tones. If not for the ring of students that formed to block the way of the security guards, it would have seemed like a completely civilised conversation. I needed to hurry.

"It doesn't matter if I understand or not," I said. "I need you to stop them. Now."

"I don't have a sense of justice or anything, you know," Hikigaya-kun continued. "I've just been trying to stick to my ideals."

"That's the same thing," I replied, allowing a fraction of my urgency to slip into my voice.

"Not when my ideals involve proving just how rotten humans are." Letting out a self-deprecating laugh, he curled up into a tighter ball. "It's been so... tiring, Yukinoshita."

"Stop whining," I snapped. At this point my voice was betraying the anxiety I felt, not that I cared anymore. "Get on your feet!"

"I haven't been concentrating, Yukinoshita. Even regarding all of... this. Our club activities. And here I let myself be beaten by a bunch of lunatics. I thought about it just now, y'know. And I think it's because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. Nothing to fight for."

"Hikigaya-kun, _please_. We can't let this happen."

Rook's killing intent flared like a blowtorch. Bishop's hand dipped into his shirt pocket.

"...I'm sorry, Yukinoshita."

" _Hikigaya-kun!_ "

Thunderous gunfire filled the air.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 19th June, 1740 hours]**

Hayama Hayato stood amidst the cloud of smoke, shielding his face with one arm. There were two distinct metallic sounds as two bullets fell to the ground.

Thick silence filled the air for approximately three seconds before the security guards snapped into action. Chaotic screaming filled the air as the guards pushed and the crowd of students pushed back.

"A bulletproof vest?" murmured Bishop, sounding impressed. "You're more well-prepared than I thought."

"I try my best," replied Hayama-kun. A hint of fear mingled with the unreadable shadows on his face.

"Plan B, then," Bishop sighed. "Go on, I know you've been waiting for this."

Rook moved forward, grinning. Exhaling, Bishop reloaded his pistol.

I sighed in momentary relief. Hayama-kun's preparation had bought me some time, but there was no possibility that he would be able to deal with both adversaries and get out alive. What that meant was that I had half a minute more to convince my stubborn comrade.

"Hikki..." Yuigahama-san spoke for the first time in the entire exchange. I started; I had completely forgotten about her. "Hayato-kun is going to die. You don't want that, right? I can see you don't."

"I suppose not," he mumbled, staring blankly at the floor. "It doesn't matter, though. All I'll ever do is watch. I'm no different from them."

"How can you say all that so casually?" Yuigahama-san cried, moisture beginning to gather at the corners of her eyes. "I don't care how much you hate him! Hayato-kun is going to _die_!"

HIkigaya-kun broke his fetal position to give her a frustrated glare. "It's not like that. Alright? Stop whining. After this is all over I'll just stop this whole farce and give you back your normal lives-"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I refuse," I said. Hikigaya-kun's glare shifted to me, and I met it with full force. "This is not who you are, Hikigaya Hachiman."

Frantic gunshots rang in the background, punctuated by the occasional shockwave as Rook's metal bat slammed into the floor. Screams filled the air.

"What _am_ I, then?" he snarled, sharply casting his gaze to the ground to conceal his expression. "You don't know a damn thing! Am I a pathetic student? A fearful excuse of a human being? An angry tyrant? Or would you rather call me a monster?"

"Again, I have no idea what you are talking about!" I snapped. "But if you want a purpose so badly, I'll give it to you."

I leaned in as far as my bondages would allow. "This is an order from the President of the Service Club. Settle this issue, or the club is disbanded."

For what seemed like minutes, Hikigaya-kun stared at me, his gaze unreadable. Then finally, he spoke up. "So. This is a do or die situation, huh? You're saying I will lose everything if I make the wrong decision."

"Yes. Was that enough to motivate you?"

A pause. Then: "Of course not."

My heart sank. Emotional appeal was not my forte, but this was an anomalous case where logical arguments would have no effect and I had no other choice. Nevertheless, it was natural that I would fail to convince him. I had failed.

...why, then, did Yuigahama-san look so triumphant?

"All you did was put me in a more troublesome situation. Things just never go my way, no matter how much I plan... " Hikigaya-kun grunted, easing himself into a sitting position. "But you know what? I'm sick of sitting around and watching as everything around me disappears. If things won't ever go my way, I'll make them. That's all there is to it."

His eyes were still the same cynical, rotten chips of diamond. Yet, burning in them was the unmistakable flame of resolve. I inwardly rebuked my heart for fluttering.

The bonds fell from his hands; he must have been untying them all this while, despite his inner turmoil. Exactly what I had been expecting him to do all along, I realised. He turned to me. "Thanks, Yukinoshita. For better or for worse, I'm back."

With the utterance of this incomprehensible line, Hikigaya Hachiman stood up.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1745 hours]**

Hayama visibly winced as the Rook slammed the grotesquely large metal bat into his left arm, gritting his teeth as bone cracked and sinew tore. Despite the obvious pain, he desperately ensured that his arms were still guarding his face as if his life depended on it. It did, in fact; Bishop had been relentlessly emptying magazine after magazine of bullets into his body, and any shot to the head would prove lethal.

It was more of a massacre than a fight at this point, I realised as I charged toward the centre of the gymnasium.

"Look who decided to join the party," sneered the Bishop, cocking the pistol in my direction. "Did Knight not tie you up securely enough-"

The average human's reaction time to visual stimulus is 0.25 seconds, which was why I made sure that he didn't see my bodyslam coming. As he stumbled back, I grabbed a fistful of his hair and dragged his head down sharply enough to connect my knee to his chin in one fluid motion.

Clean yet dirty. Clinical and ruthless. Just the way I liked it.

"He did," I shouted while preemptively sidestepping a bat swing from the Rook. "Just not carefully enough, apparently!"

"I see," hissed the Rook as his comrade crumpled in a soft heap. "The good ol' gimmick of jamming your fingers into the knots while they're being tied to loosen them, eh? You were awake the whole time, weren't ya."

"Couldn't have expected that taser to work on me," I shot back. I feinted a punch to his right, instead darting forward when he sidestepped instinctively to pick Hayama up and relocate him to the nearest wall. "You're welcome, by the way."

"I was a little confused when I got your text message," Hayama wheezed, clutching his mangled arm. "Asking me to do weird things like wear a bulletproof vest, not to mention there were so many grammatical mistakes..."

"Ah, shut it. I was typing it with my hands tied behind my back."

"So you _were_ in cahoots, after all," the Rook snarled, baring his shark-like teeth. "Should've killed you when I had the chance!" I glanced back to see if Yukinoshita was overhearing the conversation, and my blood ran cold.

The Knight, formerly known as Tobe Kakeru and one of Hayama's trusted subordinates, was pressing his taser to Yuigahama's bare throat.

"Don't move," he stated with a voice as cold as ice. "You may have withstood the shock, but if I apply it to the right spots she will definitely die."

Yuigahama's tension was palpable from where I stood, not that I could fault her. She was fully aware that she was not valuable enough for either Yukinoshita or myself to risk our lives to save. Yet her posture was completely composed, almost as if she _knew_ that we would save her.

 _What is this? Trust?_

I froze. On one hand, Yuigahama's life was obviously at stake here, but any alternative could result in all our deaths anyway. The Rook was prepared to lunge at me in a matter of seconds, Yuigahama was more than twenty metres away from where I was standing, and Hayama was still leaning on the wall right next to me. Which one of the two was I willing to sacrifice? Calculations ran through my head...

 _No. There is a better way._

"Yukinoshita," I called. "I'm not losing anyone today. You understand, right?"

There sat Yukinoshita Yukino, restrained thoroughly, definitely unarmed and hopelessly outnumbered, with her defenseless clubmate on the verge of death just metres away. A chaotic scene of screaming students and merciless security guards surrounded her fragile-looking form. Objectively, there was nothing she could do.

But having faith in others goes beyond the level of calculation and inference, I realised. It calls for an unreasonable amount of trust and borders on the realm of irrationality, yet is the very concept that strengthens people beyond everything they could possibly believe. The power that had beaten me several times in the past few months... could I call on it, right here and now?

 _Just this once, Shiromeguri-senpai. Just this once, I'll listen to you._

"I'm counting on you," I said.

The woman whom all my hopes rested on didn't say a thing, didn't even flash a hint of agreement on her face. But the spark in her eyes was enough for me.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 19th June, 1750 hours]**

"Kakeru Tobe-kun," I said. "I will appreciate it greatly if you could let my clubmate go."

"No idea who you're talking to," he snapped, gritting his teeth. "My name is Knight."

Even the most unobservant bystander would have sensed his irritation. "No. No matter how much you run from your identity, Kakeru Tobe will always be a part of you."

"Shut up," he commanded, expression contorting.

"Knight, eh? Unrestrained, unpredictable, never staying in one place. A trump card that hides itself until the best possible moment. How much they've glorified you."

"One more word and she dies!" he shrieked. His hand trembled and the tip of the taser dug further into flesh. To her credit, Yuigahama-san's demeanour remained calm. Or perhaps she was frozen with fear?

"That is how your Ou-sama has viewed you," I continued. "And perhaps how Hayama Hayato viewed you too. That's why he barely reacted to your betrayal, right? He'd been expecting it all along."

"T-that's not true," he rasped. Yuigahama-san seemed to be forgotten at this point. "That guy... once you've gotten into his circle, he trusts you with his _life_. He's so easy, there's no way... there's no way..."

"How cute," I continued, internally promising myself to never use that word again. "You crave his affection even after betraying him? But I'll prove it to you. Press it."

Kakeru Tobe blinked, putting up an expression so lost I felt the urge to laugh. "...huh?"

"Your taser. Press the button."

Contrary to the shock and terror that I had been expecting Yuigahama-san to display, her facial expression remained completely blank. _Could it be that she trusts me? To that extent?_

Kakeru Tobe-kun studied my face desperately, and I could almost visualise the thoughts racing across his mind. What was this fragile-looking girl, restrained and helpless, trying to make him do? Was this reverse psychology? Multi-layered manipulation? A hopeless gamble?

"Go on," I said, smiling serenely. "Press the button."

A breath of dry air, harshly inhaled through quivering lips. An index finger twitched, then twitched more resolutely.

 _Bzzzt._

Yuigahama-san blinked. "...That wasn't so bad."

Kakeru Tobe-kun blinked.

 _Bzzzt. Bzzzzzzt._

I exhaled shakily. This gamble had been carefully calculated and I was nearly fully convinced of my hypothesis being true, but it was nerve wracking nonetheless. "It's a dud, isn't it? The combat equipment of all Group S students is provided by Hayama Hayato himself, and while it's true that you've never really had the need to use it until today, have you never considered it? That the weapon Hayama-kun gave you might have been faulty."

The tampered taser clattered to the ground as Kakeru Tobe, double agent and master of deception, stumbled back. "I... I never... I thought..."

I smirked. "When you allow somebody to put your trust in you, you are unwittingly putting your trust in him as well. Trusting him to trust you. But it looks like Hayama Hayato didn't trust you as much as you thought."

Bewilderment morphed into frustration as he picked his body up and forced it forward. Both his arms jerked, as if compelled by steel wires, to fasten themselves around Yuigahama-san's throat.

"I don't need the taser to kill her, anyway," he growled, uncertainty lacing his voice. "And I will, if you try to move!"

"You won't."

"Says who?"

"Hayama Hayato never trusted you to begin with, and you have started to question how different your Ou-sama is from him. A double agent is the member of the team that is trusted the least, isn't it? You never really cared about the ideals or values, but you craved attention and recognition from both your superiors like a spoiled child. Now that this is no longer a possibility, what do you have to fight for?"

I leaned forward as the defeated Knight felt his legs give out and collapsed onto his knees. "That man fighting in the middle of the gymnasium is one of the strongest people I know, but even he was unable to move just minutes ago. The lack of conviction is the deadliest wound any warrior can suffer, and by the looks of it, you will never fully recover."

I was physically bound and completely vulnerable. One of my clubmates was fighting for his life twenty metres away and the other was crying tears of shock right beside me. However, this was undoubtedly my victory.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1750 hours]**

The assassination had been prevented, two out of my three adversaries had been taken care of and security was handling most of the remaining resistance. The howling mass of muscle in front of me knew he was fighting a battle he could not win, but he continued to bare his fangs like a rabid hound.

 _Even though we've come this far, it feels like I'll lose everything if I let my guard down now..._

Conflict between two street fighters is never pleasant. The Rook had clearly been trained by years of turf war experience to take out his opponents quickly and brutally, leaving no room for niceties like fair fighting or even proper fighting. Unlike my sparring sessions with Hayama, the general rule of thumb for fights like this was to deliver any hard object at hand to any of the opponent's weaknesses; in this case, these referred to the grotesquely large baseball bat and my abdomen respectively.

But those who view fights as purely physical are the ones that never emerge victorious. Steering clear of his irregular and ridiculously powerful swings, I gathered the remnants of breath in my lungs to engage in psychological warfare.

"Not bad, but your attacking range is restricted to the area your bat can cover!" I shouted, leaping back to avoid a blow that would have shattered my pelvis. "Did you learn nothing in your time on the streets? A more experienced fighter would have floored you already!"

"So you say, but you're just dodging!" he screamed. The bat stirred the air furiously, its unpredictable trajectories virtually indistinguishable to the naked eye.

 _Against a stronger opponent, every movement... no. Every twitch of every muscle must not be wasted._ I steeled my vocal cords to project the most apathetic voice I could muster. "Whatever. Now that I've read your moves, I guess I'll end it now."

Everything had been done in preparation for this very moment; at this point, he was under the impression that I was overconfident and trying to finish the fight as quickly as possible. Throwing a quick feint to his right, I jammed all strength into my left foot when he reacted accordingly, pivoted anticlockwise to duck under his horizontal swing and raised my shoulder to slam into his torso...

I expected him to sacrifice his left hand to block the blow or at least attempt to dodge it. What I did not expect him to do was to grip his bat with both hands and spin around _in a full circle_ to deliver a home run to my ribcage.

The dull impact between my body and the gymnasium wall registered before the pain did; streaks of pure white lightning that danced before my eyes and invaded my skull. There was a brief feeling of vertigo before gravity dropped my limp body onto the hard concrete floor. My muscles spasmed, refusing to heed my commands.

 _Ah, crap._

"Bastard," I croaked, mustering every last ounce of my energy to glance up. Thankfully, the security guards had evacuated Hayama's helpless body. "You were holding back your strength all this while, weren't you."

"I could say the same for you," he sneered. The bat was lifted up to rest upon his shoulder. "Suddenly lunging at me like that... caught me off guard, it did. Not to mention that shot should've killed you! You wouldn't happen to have some cheap trick up your sleeve, would ya?"

"Not my sleeve, per se," I grunted, easing myself into a sitting position. "My entire set of school uniform is bulletproof."

He whistled. "Well, aren't you something else. Custom-made uniform, eh? I see, I see. I dunno what you did to make yourself so special, but y'know. That doesn't matter."

" _People like you really piss me off._ "

I smirked. "I figured. You won't gain anything from beating me here, and you know that. A fight between someone special and a grunt that nobody cares about? Undecided as the outcome may be, what happens afterward is set in stone. You can lose to me or brutally kill me; no matter what, I'll be the one who gets all the attention because there are a bunch of idiots who actually care about me."

" _Let's end this already, shall we?_ "

My body was at its limit. If I took another hit, even if I were to be clipped by a single shot, my brain would undoubtedly sustain significant trauma and lapse into unconsciousness. With this in mind, I sprinted at my foe.

"Again with the dirty tricks," the Rook muttered. Shifting his feet and gripping his bat, he turned to face me in a swinging stance. "If you want to pull anything off, go ahead and try. I'll take you head on!"

His swing was definitely going to be straight. I could slide toward his left, maneuvering under his bat. Or perhaps darting to his right to reach his blind spot before he moved would be a better option. Ducking under his torso to strike at his legs would be a risky move, but would nullify all his chances of counterattacking. But the option that had the highest chance of success, I realised, would be to leap _above_ his crouched figure as he swung to deliver a decisive blow to his head.

 _Just how strong is my resolve?_

I went straight instead.

Perhaps he was surprised by my upfront assault. Perhaps the emotional attacks had worked on him. Either way, his swing came surprisingly slowly. Seizing the chance, I clung on to the bat as it impacted my ribcage for the second time in the past minute, ignoring the sparks of agony that danced across my vision as my bones screamed for mercy.

 _Not strong enough to beat two naive girls at my own game. Not strong enough to run my system without hesitation. Not even strong enough to save my sister. Not strong at all._

The force that would have otherwise thrown me against the gymnasium wall was nullified as I hooked my legs around the Rook's sturdy waist, upper body still desperately wrapped around his weapon and refusing to let go.

 _But strong enough to fight. Strong enough to do whatever the hell I want. I am as strong as I want to be!_

What kind of face was I making in that moment? Funnily enough, that seemed to be the only lucid thought in my mind as I slammed my skull against his.

Fatigue, pain, adrenaline... a chaotic mixture of feeling drained me of almost all sense as both of us crumpled. "You know... I lied just now."

He strained against the bonds of unconsciousness. Futilely, of course. "About what...?"

Darkness closed in on my field of vision, and this time I welcomed it; my job was done. "...Being special, idiot."

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 19th June, 1830 hours]**

"Kitamura Tadashi, class G."

In the aftermath of this huge incident, the school management was naturally trying to keep it under wraps. However, they had requested that every student involved be questioned, and naturally the one in charge of cleanup was an extremely bored Hiratsuka-sensei. The security guard who had been assigned to assist her was visibly nervous, not that he could be blamed; 'Hiratsuka-sensei' and 'bored' did not go well together.

"Naruto Uzumaki, class G."

"Ma'am? I'm pretty sure that's a Shounen Jump chara-"

"Shut up!" she snapped, flinging the stack of class lists she was holding into the air. "I haven't had my daily dose of manga, okay?" Cowed, the security guard meekly picked up the sheets of paper and referred to them himself.

Though the loose ends had been mostly resolved, some complications still remained. Rook, who had fallen into a coma from overexertion and Hikigaya-kun's merciless attack, had been rushed to the hospital; even the all-powerful school administration would have a hard time covering it up. There was the issue of Knight being a member of Group S, but Hayama-kun was currently seeing to that matter himself. And as one would probably expect, Bishop had escaped.

Not to mention, I had some leftover business to attend to. Leaving Hiratsuka-sensei and her flustered lackeys behind me, I headed for my final destination for the day.

Students from Group S exited the infirmary as I approached it, freshly dismissed from their emergency meeting. Surprisingly enough, Kakeru Tobe was among them, a sullen expression adorning his wearied face. After waiting for them to clear the hallway, I steeled myself and slid the door open.

His damaged right arm mummified in a cast, Hayama Hayato had been staring out of the window before my arrival. Upon my entry, he turned to face me with no trace of surprise on his face. Instinctively, he gave me a half-smile. "Yukinoshita-san."

"Good evening."

"I suppose you're here for your clubmate?" He gestured to the bed on the other side of the infirmary where Hikigaya-kun was lying unconscious. "I really have to apologise for all the trouble I put both of you through today."

"Your concern is much appreciated," I replied. "I noticed that Kakeru Tobe-kun has rejoined Group S?"

An expression of innocent surprise. "Ah, yes! You must find it strange..."

"Not at all. But to forgive him after he betrayed you once? Some would consider it unwise."

"Of course, of course. But... well. His organisation tried to kill me, and their most important members are still at large. One can never tell when they'll strike again, see? In a sense, I feel like keeping him close will be better for me."

"I see," I muttered. I had planned to keep my composure for the entire duration of the conversation, but it no longer seemed to be an option. "Keeping your enemies close. Could this the entire extent of your measly idea of 'friendship', perhaps?"

He seemed genuinely taken aback. "Did that make you angry? But why? O-of course, I valued Tobe-kun as a friend until he proved me wrong. But that's not really feasible now that-"

"Then get rid of him for good. I'm sure that was what he would have wanted, too. What I am frustrated by," I paused to catch my breath and glare at him with all the animosity I could muster, "is the way that you step over the people around you."

His smile had vanished. This was the way he had been expressing himself, even since elementary school; he smiled when he wanted others to think he was happy, and stopped smiling in any other situation. "Even so, is there a point to getting angry about it? It's none of your business, after all."

"Fine," I spat. "That wasn't the point of me coming here, anyway."

"What was, then?"

"I wanted to ask about the request you made to the Service Club. Was it really you who made the decision, or did someone else force your hand?"

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, Date and Time Unspecified]**

Picture this scene: Two boys and a girl, in the school infirmary at sunset. The girl with the spiteful eyes triumphantly raises an accusing finger to condemn her sworn enemy. The boy with the mangled arm raises his tired eyes to meet hers. She knows that her suspicions are right. He knows that there is no escape. Yet there is an unseen compulsion: a sort of gravity that exists within his mind that forces his mouth shut and smoothens the creases on his face.

He ignores the accusation. He diverts his exhausted eyes from the girl's accusing finger to the form of the sleeping boy on the infirmary bed. The boy that lives at the bottom of the school caste. The boy that fights for justice. The boy that this girl trusts with her life.

Although I did not know it then, this scene was the perfect picture of irony.

But in that very moment, I could only watch, confused, as Hayama Hayato threw back his head in unpleasantly resigned laughter.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 19th June, 1900 hours]**

Specks of light flooded my vision as I forced my eyelids open. Judging by the texture and colour of the ceiling, I was in the infirmary. _How long have I been out for...?_

Yukinoshita was sitting by my bedside, perusing a book. She had a worried frown on her face. Concern for a clubmate? Or perhaps something more sinister? Like a natural, she smoothed out her troubled expression as soon as she noticed my consciousness.

"Oh? Looks like the man who was too incompetent to best a thug without getting taken down has woken up."

"Yo," I croaked. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing important."

 _I see... not willing to tell me, huh?_ _This game of deception is a truly frightening one._ Come to think of it, under all the pretense of being my comrade, exactly how much did Yukinoshita trust me? I had no idea how many slip-ups I had already made, or how close she was to blowing my cover. Yet regardless of our suspicions of each other, we would continue through our daily noncommittal interactions, just waiting for the perfect moment to stab each other in the back.

 _But... does that matter?_

A reader of my caliber is capable of reading in between the lines. The one regretfully large disadvantage this brings, however, is that he fails to read the text itself. When trying to understand why an author writes the way he does, one inevitably fails to appreciate exactly what he is writing. Perhaps what I needed to do was to take a good look at what I could see instead of lingering on baseless assumptions.

Was this a form of trust too?

"I must say, though," Yukinoshita continued with a playful smile (as playful as Yukinoshita Yukino could get, anyway), "you have disappointed me once again, Hikigaya-kun."

Whatever doubts she may have had were unimportant to her in that moment, I realised. Above all, her smile seemed genuine enough.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "In terms of fighting skill, those guys were way out of my leag-"

"Not that. I am referring to your attitude. You wake up to an attractive young woman by your bedside, and the first thing you do is ask about work?"

"...huh?"

"I was joking earlier when I mentioned a re-evaluation of your sexual orientation, but I may have to seriously consider the possibility."

"Seriously, what are you saying!?"

Picture this scene: A boy and a girl, fresh from battle, laughing and bantering as if nothing has happened and nothing will.

I was not such a shallow person to think that all was right in the world, but perhaps this was the closest it could get.

 **Author's note: Alright I know this update took an unnecessarily long time to happen, but I didn't want to split this chapter into two. The next few chapters will be short, I swear. :')**


	7. Chapter 7

**[Hikigaya Hachiman, 28th June, 1630 hours]**

"You're leaving early today," Yukinoshita observed as I stood up and prepared to take my leave. "That's unlike you. Do you have something on, Hikigaya-kun?"

Of course, I would have left earlier if I could, but that would have aroused even more suspicion. I had painstakingly waited two whole hours before making my move, planning to erase my presence and disappearing from the clubroom before either clubmate noticed my absence. To think my "Stealth" (rated 2 out of 108) had been countered so easily... Yukinoshita really was something else.

"Yeah. I'm meeting up with one of my old friends."

That seemed to pique her interest. "An old friend? I would not have thought you had any."

 _Her suspicion of me seems to have intensified..._

"Very funny. Even I feel sentimental every once in a while, you know. Plus, I have a lot to catch up on with her."

A lone cell phone hit the floor. For reasons unknown, it was Yuigahama's turn to be shocked. "Wait, a girl? It's a girl? Hikki, you're seeing a girl?"

"You didn't need to say it three times!"

"I see," sniffed Yukinoshita, who despite her indifferent tone looked rather flustered as well. "I suppose what you do with your own free time is none of my business."

"Great. I'll be going then-"

"B-but just for the record, you've never exactly struck me as the sort of person who would go to such lengths just to catch up with someone. Are you and this friend... close?"

A casual question, but her face was slightly flushed. Was it from... excitement? As if Yukinoshita's uncharacteristic behaviour was not strange enough, Yuigahama seemed equal parts nervous and eager to hear my answer as well. What on earth...

 _...Ah, it's an interrogation. Could they have caught on to my plan already? So this is the power of a woman's intuition. I have to tread carefully._

"Extremely. I wanted to see her so badly that I just _had_ to go before dinner, see," I replied, then for good measure added "In fact, I would say this meetup is the closest thing to a date I have ever participated in."

Silence.

If I was lucky, I supposed, they would have let me off the hook. If not, more questioning would most likely have ensued. Dead silence was definitely not what I had expected.

 _Maybe I went too far. Whatever little respect they had for me is probably gone now..._

But the damage to my reputation had been done, and the only way to move now was forward. "...Got a problem with that?"

Surprisingly, the first to react was Yuigahama. "Wh- no, of course not! We just wanted to wish you, um, all the best... right, Yukinon?"

Yukinoshita coughed, as lightly and politely as was humanly possible. "Of course not. By all means, don't let us detain you."

Approaching the door quickly as if fearful of being recalled, I heaved a miniscule sigh of relief. What had I been worried about, anyway? There was no way these two could know what I was up to, and depending on how one looked at it they were fairly reasonable people...

"It's understandable that you would prioritise this _old friend_ over club activities since both of you are _so close_ , after all."

"...stupid Hikki."

Or maybe not. For some reason I felt like I had won the battle but lost the war.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 28th June, 1650 hours]**

The dinner crowd was already brewing when I arrived at the fast food joint. Surveying the mindless rabble before me, I considered muscling through the crowd as if it didn't exist, or tipping the supervising worker for a special service...

But that wouldn't do. Above all, she despised insincerity the most. We really were alike.

Forcing myself into a space at the back of the queue, I dulled my senses and simply existed.

It was safe to say that from the very day I started, I had made absolutely no advancement toward my objective of taking down the Service Club. There were external circumstances involved, but this was mostly due to my weakness; I had no problem admitting that. Even so, I wasn't intending to get rid of these weaknesses anytime within the foreseeable future. As a wise man once said, humility is required for change and pride is required for action, but neither are required for getting results.

My wisdom never fails to amaze me sometimes.

Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, on the other hand, had made steady progress. They were currently on speaking terms (meaning that Yuigahama could now talk freely in the clubroom without being scathingly interrupted) and their relationship had even progressed to the stage involving pet names (one-sided, of course).

As for my identity, the two of them were bound to figure it out if I didn't interfere soon. Yuigahama had an unshakeable sixth sense; her mind was slowly but surely creeping up on my identity, even if she wasn't aware of it herself. As for Yukinoshita...

 _I don't think they have even stopped to consider the possibility of a mastermind. Killing Hayama Hayato won't do anything for the school, you know that._

...in the recent fiasco, she had betrayed her innermost thoughts in a moment of panic. Come to think of it, it was highly probable that she had never really suspected Hayama to begin with. And if that was the case, just who...?

 _I've had my sights on you for quite a while, Hikigaya-kun._

A chill ran down my spine. How could I allow a few months of casual interaction to make me forget? That Yukinoshita Yukino was so much more formidable she appeared to be...

"Your order, valued customer?"

With bluish-white hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and wearing a set of crisp uniform, the staff member behind the counter stood at careful attention. Her face, predisposed toward scowling, was forced into a earnestly helpful expression which promptly disappeared the moment she realised she was talking to me.

I took a moment to admire the sight of her in her uniform. Kawasaki Saki really did look good in any outfit.

" _Your order,_ valued customer."

"Ah, right." A low, unpleasant murmur was beginning to fester behind my back; it was a long queue, and I was holding it up. I leaned forward and placed my arm on the counter. "I need you to meet me at the back. In ten minutes, okay?"

"Wha-" The scowl vanished, a mortified flush taking its place. I took another moment to appreciate this. "A-are you stupid or what? There's no way I can-"

"But you have breaks on your shift, right?"

"Not in ten minutes!" she hissed, blush fading as she slowly regained her composure. Her scowl looked more like a pout now.

As a wise man once said, one must occasionally pause to stop and admire the things worth appreciating in life. Internally praising the extent of my wisdom, I stopped to admire the sight in front of me once more.

"Mama, what's taking the big brother so long?"

"Hush, Jotaro. You'll understand when you're older."

"Dude, that's one smooth kid. I really, like, need my burger though..."

 _Ahem... right. Back on task, back on task._

"Well like it or not, you'll have a break in ten minutes. So are you deciding on that yourself or do I have to arrange-"

"Fine, fine, I got it," Kawasaki mumbled, casting her gaze to the side. I knew she hated it when I did this sort of thing, but she really left me no choice sometimes. "I get it already, so could you at least order something?"

"Gladly," I replied. "Just give me... a cup of coffee. Pitch black."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 28th June, 1705 hours]**

I downed the cup as the door to the staff lounge swung open and Kawasaki presented herself like a force of nature. Her hand slammed down on the table in front of me, causing my now empty cup to eject itself onto the floor.

"You'd better have a good reason for this."

I smiled blandly. "Is it really that wrong to want to see an old friend?"

She let out an animalistic noise that sounded like a cross between a growl and a groan. "You made me cancel my shift halfway just to... yeah, no. That's nowhere near a good reason. And we're not friends."

I shifted comfortably in my seat as she took one on the opposite end of the table. "How hurtful, of course we're friends. And friends help one another in times of need, right?"

"Ah. So it was for something else."

I half-expected a look of disappointment, but the plainly defiant look on her face did not change. She must have already understood that I had no incentive to see her without an ulterior motive.

"I told you already," she hissed. Her eyes had narrowed to slits and potent killing intent rolled towards me in waves. "I'm not doing any of your dirty work unless it's an order."

"Then by my order, we are very good friends."

"Tch."

Kawasaki Saki, a student from Sobu High and in Group F. She was originally the eldest daughter of a regular civilian household. Her parents were scrupulous and prudent individuals, living upright lives and working reasonable hours to spend ample time as a family. Steady incomes, a wise investment here and there: they had paved a way to peaceful retirement by way of solid business decision making. In fact, the only error they made in this regard was making a joint investment with their old friends, the Hikigayas.

And what a fatal mistake that was.

"So?" Snapping out of my reverie, I noted that Kawasaki had a resigned look on her face. "What do you want me to do?"

"There's no need to rush into that," I said, spreading my hands out in a conciliatory gesture. "Let's talk a little. I need to know how you've been, after all."

Every minute spent here was a minute wasted. No matter how unlikely, there was the chance that Yukinoshita or Yuigahama would spot me leaving this place on my way out if I overstayed my visit. Even so, that was exactly what I was doing. Was it pity for the girl in front of me that had kept me from dropping my orders and leaving? Perhaps.

In that case, it was a twisted kind of pity.

"How I've been?" Kawasaki's expression had softened, if only just a little. "Well, I... I'm coping fine, I guess."

"You have, huh? As expected of you."

"O-of course, I dropped a couple of my part time jobs and stuff... nothing important, anyway. Just needed to spend more time on tuition and whatnot, y'know?"

"Mhmm."

"As for my... other work, I'm kinda skipping out on the special jobs. You're the one who said I could." Here she half-glared at me expectantly, as if daring me to rebuke her.

"I know, I know. I'm the one that said you don't need to do anything you don't want to, right?"

"Right," her defiance deflated. Everything I did had an underlying motive, and no doubt she was wary of my seemingly innocuous interest in her current life. Naturally, her efforts to figure out my ulterior motives were fruitless, for the simple reason that I had none. In fact, I did not quite understand why I was doing this either.

Be that as it may, I was not about to let this line of conversation meet such a pathetic end. "How's Taishi doing in school?"

Kawasaki Taishi was the secondborn of the Kawasaki family, currently studying in the same middle school that my younger sister had enrolled in. Due to the relationship between our families, Komachi and Taishi were fairly close friends.

Rather, they _had_ been fairly close friends.

"I... I guess he's doing well enough."

I smiled. "His grades are good, right?"

"Yeah, top of the level." Then in an instant, her vaguely blank face sharpened into an expression of horror and indignation. "You _didn't-_ "

This girl was _so_ fun to mess with. "No, no. I didn't tamper with his grades or make any special arrangements for him. You wouldn't have liked that anyway, would you?"

The flush that had found its way into her face due to excitement had yet to fade; I could still see it as she sullenly glared at the tabletop. "And since when have you ever cared about what I liked?"

"You say the most hurtful things sometimes. Of course I care about what you like! You're precious to me, after all."

As her head snapped upwards, I noted that the flush found its way to her ears. "I-Idiot! Don't say things that you don't mean!"

I hadn't had this much fun in quite a while. "Wha- things I don't mean? But I do mean it, to an extent. You're just so _caring_ and _reliable_ , I know you'll be on my side when everything else fails. Isn't that enough of a reason for you to be dear to me-"

"A-Anyway! What do you want me to do?" Despite the intensity of her defiant glare, mortified tears (miniscule as they were) were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. Perhaps it was time for me to tone it down.

"Right, right, the job. Have you heard of the Service Club?"

She glared sulkily at me. "A little, yes."

"As circumstance would have it, I joined that club. And I need your help to break it down."

"...oh."

I blinked. "What's with that reaction?"

"Nothing, really. It's just... when you mentioned a job, I was expecting something related to the things happening underground, or something..."

"Has there been more activity than usual?"

She shook her head. "I just thought you were up to something. You did bring in that chestnut haired boy two weeks back, after all."

Ah, right. Most of the eerie cult-gang amalgamation of Group C students the Service Club had encountered just two weeks prior were either too unimportant to capture or had escaped. The only clear exception was Rook, who had been knocked unconscious and taken into custody by the school administration.

"How's that freak doing now, by the way?"

"Hayama transferred him into one of our hidden facilities. He's still in comatose state, but just this morning we discovered some, uh, quirks about his body."

"Meaning?"

"Genetic modification to enhance his senses and physical strength. And half his skeletal system was replaced with some sort of alloy. We're not too sure yet, but I think he's one of the Spring Faction's combat toys."

I leaned back and contemplated this. Sure, he was tough when we fought, but I'd simply assumed it was due to my lack of focus. To think his body was actually primed for combat... that would explain why he had given me so much trouble.

"Um, so about my job..."

For the second time that hour, I was thrown off my train of thought. "Oh right. I'll give you the details tomorrow. I just came here to check if you were okay with it."

"...oh."

"Again, what's with that reaction?"

"I dunno, I just thought... well... what would you have done if I wasn't okay with it?"

"I would have asked someone else, obviously," I replied, absentmindedly retrieving my bag. "I did say you don't need to do anything you don't want to do, right?"

For the first time over the course of this entire interaction, silence reigned in the room. Disturbed, I turned to face her blank-faced figure. "What?"

She jerked to life, reflexively lowering her head. The flush on her face had disappeared, but for reasons unknown to me she was hiding her face anyway. "No, nothing. And, well... thanks."

"You're welcome, I guess." Puzzled, I stood up and beat a tactical retreat in the direction of the door.

 _...What was that all about? Anyway, I should leave as soon as possible before Yukinoshita and Yuigahama come here by pure chance and see me-_

"U-um, hey."

I whipped around, doubly confused. "What now?"

"If you just wanted to ask me about this, why didn't you do it right after class or something? It would be way more convenient for you, and all that."

The gears in my brain ceased their centripetal motion. "After... class?"

"Yeah. You could have just stayed behind to talk to me. Actually, you never do that when giving me my orders, even though you do it for Hayama..." Then her puzzled expression narrowed into one of suspicion. "...wait. You _do_ know we're in the same class, right?"

Of course, as an objective fact, I had always _known_ that Kawasaki Saki was in the same class as me. But certain pieces of familiar information tend to ingrain themselves into one's subconscious without one realising it, and it had never actually occurred to me that Kawasaki, who I had known for years as a family friend and a loyal subordinate, was actually _in my class_.

In short, she was so unassuming that I had plainly forgotten about her.

I hesitated for one moment. One moment too much, I realised as her face gradually crept up the colour gradient to assume the shade of red I was so familiar with.

"You... you _Idiot_!"

Pens, files, my long-unused paper cup: everything was being thrown at me with dead-eyed accuracy. Depending completely on reflex action, I ducked behind the door.

"Wait, calm down for a second. I know I kind of forgot about it and caused you a lot of inconvenience as a result-"

"That's not _it_!" she screeched, hurling her nametag at the space between my eyes.

 _That hurt, dammit!_ "Hah?"

"I can't believe you!" The mortified tears were beginning to gather again, and this time I had no idea regarding how to stop them. "We've known each other for so long, and I thought you... and you just... _urrgghhhhhh!_ "

"Wha- what I don't understand here is why you're so angry about it- oof!"

Having run out of small projectiles, she had resorted to the chairs. Unfortunately for me, there were many more of those, and my bulletproof uniform did not cover my face. Being the rational and experienced fighter that I was, I ran for it.

It had been so long that I had forgotten. Messing with Kawasaki was as fun as it seemed, but be it by accident or not, you did not want to push her over the deep end.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, Date and Time unspecified]**

Which is harder: to dissolve a collective whole, or to break an individual?

The vast majority of people who ascribe to their overly-simplistic logic and claim without hesitation that the former is harder have evidently never attempted the latter. The concept of a large group of people being a collective whole - a organisation, a community, a society - is but a collective delusion. When the going gets rough, a great majority of an "organisation" will suddenly realise that they are, in fact, nothing more than a large gathering of individuals. And in this rare moment of self discovery, they will not hesitate to serve their own interests, the idea of the greater good far from their minds.

Source: Me.

On the other hand, dissolving the will of one strong person - no, even a complete wuss - requires significantly more effort. Unlike within the farce which we call a collective whole, individuals with a solid sense of individuality will not waver. Regardless of whether one wishes to become a CEO or a NEET, it's the same either way. Both are just a collection of capitalised letters, after all. But if they have set their minds to do what they want to do, an accomplished person will be an accomplished person and a shut-in will be a shut-in. And nobody will stop them; not without much effort.

To put it simply, it would be something like this. Which is harder: to topple a massive Lego tower, or to break a single block? When viewed with this perspective, the answer becomes incredibly intuitive.

But with this, a more challenging question comes to light. If one feat only requires a slight push and the other is downright impossible, then where on the spectrum of difficulty lies the act of separating two blocks?

Answer: It depends on how well they stick.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, Approximately 1 year ago]**

"Hey, Onii-chan."

The weather was wonderful today, I mused internally. The wind's disposition was just right, the sun's rays felt pleasant rather than stifling and the sky was such a charming shade of cerulean.

"...Onii-chan."

The melodious sound of Cicadas shrilling, summer minus the scorching heat. Air dry enough for chirping sparrows to make their appearance, yet humid enough to brush your skin. People should take more time to appreciate the beauty in the ordinary days like this, really.

A light tug on the edge of my sleeve diverted my attention downwards.

My adorable younger sister was staring up at me with a weary expression on her face. Despite the wonderful weather, too... come to think of it, Komachi had been smiling less and less recently. In this situation, was it not my responsibility to act like a supportive older brother?

I plastered the warmest smile I could muster onto my face: the kind that only a teenaged boy who had spent years doting on his sister could muster. "What is it?"

"...we should go soon." As she said this simple line, her face jerked away as she avoided eye contact with me. It could have been my imagination, but I caught a hint of resentment on her face. Or was it perhaps disgust?

Deep within me, something bubbled.

 _Oh well, I suppose she's at that difficult age._ "Let's go, then," I replied, holding out my hand. Grudgingly, she took it.

A gust of fresh air tickled our faces as we strolled out of the house, and I let out a sigh of contentment in response. "Today's weather sure is great, don't you agree?"

No answer. I looked down at the figure who was silently trudging alongside me, and the expression on her face did not belong to a thirteen year old girl.

Deep down, something unpleasant writhed and frothed.

We walked in silence, and after about five minutes or so the silence became unbearable. Surprisingly enough, the one to break it was her.

"Hey."

"What is it?'

"Kondo-san said he's coming over to our place to collect his due later. He'll kill us if we don't have it, he says."

 _Ah, so she was worried about that._ "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll sort something out."

She stared straight at me for the first time in days, her eyes rimmed with red and her voice crackling. "We can't pay him back. You _know_ we can't."

It was an ordinary day. I was about to make my ordinary debut in high school less than half a year later, I was part of an ordinary family with an ordinary sister and I was taking an ordinary walk to an ordinary location...

...and a loan shark was coming to collect money from us later. We could not pay him back. He would harass us until we could, which would be never...

It was struggling now, thrashing about in my gut and rapidly clawing its way up.

I swallowed.

"Don't care about these things. There's nothing much we can do about it at this point, right? It'll be fine! We'll convince him to hold it off, then I'll find a part time job. Everyone's getting one these days, anyway. It's only a few million yen, isn't it? Just leave it to big brother and enjoy the view for now. Look, there's even a rainbow-"

" _I don't care!_ Stop hiding from reality!"

It was desperately trying to claw its way out now. Like a rush of boiling crimson from my abdomen to my head. Like flashes of white behind my wide-open eyes. A faint buzzing filled my ears. All sound muted itself, slowly but surely, draining below, behind, away. The buzzing thickened into silence, and there was nothing else.

Hello, the voice in my head said.

Hello. It's been a while.

Don't listen to her. She's just at that age, you know. You were like that once.

Was I?

Yes, you were.

I don't remember being this bad, though.

Of course you were. All kids are like that in their teens and you are an ordinary kid, remember?

Ah. Yes. Of course. But y'know, Kondo-san...

Don't listen to him either. He has no place in your ordinary everyday life. Don't listen to any of them.

But there's just so much going on. I'm at my limit... no, I'm past it already. I'm, I'm already...

No. No, no, no. You cannot be like this. You should not be like this. You will not be like this, no matter how much you want to. You are a bystander, are you not? You have your own life, and these people have theirs.

I _can't,_ dammit! I'm losing-

Deep breaths, deep breaths. Now answer me. Who are you?

I am Hikigaya Hachiman. I am an ordinary student, living an ordinary life. It is an ordinary day today. The weather is great. My little sister is throwing a fit, just like any ordinary teenage girl. My parents are...

My parents are...

" _...look_ at what's going around you for once!" Komachi screamed. My adorable sister. My always-smiling sister. My ray of sunshine. Her face was twisted into a rictus of hate and agony and negative emotion that I couldn't process in time. "And at least _act_ like you're going to attend a funeral!"

My parents are dead.

...

...

It was coming. I felt it coming, and welcomed it. All the emotion that had been walled up deep inside was slowly freeing itself. Like the breaking of a dam, there was the rumble of an incoming torrent. All unpleasantness boiled, and converged into a focal point...

And a single tear rolled down my cheek.

Shell shocked, Komachi stared. The oblivious birds and cicadas continued their chirping. The sun shone.

...

...

There you go. Now you've had your little temper tantrum. Happy?

What... that's it? Just one teardrop?

Of course. What, you expected more?

But all these years... everything I've kept all pent up...

Now that's a laugh. Don't you know what being a bystander means? It means all this while, when your family suffered, you turned your face away. You didn't care. You've got nothing pent up.

No... that can't...

Oh, I get it now. All this time they were crying and you weren't, you somehow convinced yourself that you were being strong and holding it in, didn't you. You're pretty amazing in your own right. That wasn't a compliment, by the way.

What do I do now?

I've told you time and time again. Keep going. You've always been a bystander and will always continue to be. So keep staring at the sunlight and don't look at the rain. That's who you are, after all.

I guess so. Hey.

Yeah?

It's a nice day today, isn't it? And nothing that happens to me will change that.

...yeah. That's the spirit.

"...Heh."

"Onii...chan?"

The lone pathetic teardrop had long evaporated from the surface of my cheek. I plastered the warmest smile I could muster onto my face: the kind that only a teenaged boy who had spent years doting on his sister could muster. "Let's go, Komachi."

My sister resented me; I knew that much. Yet she took my proffered hand without hesitation, as if I was all she had left in an uncaring world. In fact, I probably was.

A gust of fresh air tickled our faces as we strolled towards the location of our parents' funeral service, and I let out a sigh of contentment in response.

"Hey, Onii-chan. That rainbow you said you saw just now..."

"I was lying, silly."

You don't get rainbows without rain.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, Date and Time unspecified]**

Bear with me for a while as I trace my train of thought back to the aforementioned Lego Block analogy. It's a good analogy. But as fitting as it is, humans are not lego blocks. Comparing the two would be like comparing apples and oranges; no, it would be even more wrong than that. Baseless. Senseless. And above all, inaccurate.

And while fully knowing that I am reflecting the complex entirety of human nature on such a simplified and warped surface, I will continue to use this analogy. It's a good analogy.

There are several ways to separate a pair of lego blocks, the most obvious of which would be to pull them apart with brute strength. But say there exists a hypothetical pair of blocks that bond so cohesively that no physical force can take them apart. How, then, does one undeniably and indisputably separate two inseparable entities?

Breaking both blocks is certainly an option. In the human context, this would mean breaking two individuals to the point that they cannot bond or even interact with anyone else, let alone each other. But that method is crude. Inelegant. In fact, in doing so one would inadvertently glorify the broken bond in the eyes of others. "They clung onto their bond until the very end! How admirable!" and all that nonsense.

But it's simple, really. All one needs to do is to very carefully, leaving one block completely untouched, grind the other to dust.

Then and only then, upon seeing the untouched block sitting by itself amidst the powdered remains of its counterpart, will onlookers understand that the two blocks have been undoubtedly separated.

Practically speaking, there is no sane person who has ever used this method to separate two lego blocks. But. Lego blocks are not humans. In terms of intelligence, sentience, physical durability... the ways to contrast the two are endless; but most importantly, lego blocks are inanimate objects, and inanimate objects don't break themselves like humans do.

Like I had begun to.

That disgraceful scene on the way to my parents' funeral - although I didn't know it then, it had marked the beginning of the end. Or should I say the end of the beginning? 'Beginning of the end' implies that some significant finality was approaching towards my relationship with Komachi and my view towards the world. But that is not the case. It is more apt to say that a new chapter was being opened in my life. In retrospect, at the time, I had no idea what path I would be led down. Even now, I still have no idea.

That is why. I'll walk down the entirety of this absurd path, and at the end of it all I will look back. I'll twist and warp human nature to my amusement, and only then get around to understanding it. I will achieve my purpose, and only then will I discover it. And I will destroy anyone who gets in my way.

In my way... two rebels, bound by obligation. If I cannot separate both of you and place you on my carefully constructed tower, then one of you will suffice. The shining piece at the pinnacle of my twisted system. My masterpiece. And who could possibly suit the role better than the proud Yukinoshita Yukino?

Personal bias? No, no. It's only natural that the stronger individual should be the last one standing. As unfortunate as it is, the roles in my little staged comedy have already been set.

Yuigahama, I'm coming for you.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 1300 hours]**

"Yukinon, Yukinon!"

Sighing, I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself for the customary slam of the sliding door which I had come to subconsciously associate with Yuigahama-san's daily entrance. Surprisingly enough, it never happened. Instead, the door slid open normally and two pairs of footsteps echoed along the mostly empty clubroom. The evidently noisier pair approached me rapidly.

Yuigahama-san must have brought someone along to the clubroom. And this person was definitely not Hikigaya-kun; I would recognise the sound of his laid-back gait anywhere, and this person's footsteps were much more reserved. As far as I could tell from the sound, this person was used to moving around silently...

An assassin!

But before my eyelids could jolt open to regard my foe, a pair of hands had fastened themselves on my face from behind to cover my eyes.

"Guess who?" hummed Yuigahama-san cheerfully.

Judging by the scrape of a chair along the floor and the sound of creaking metal, the mysterious individual had seated himself opposite me at the table. My vision was disabled, I was in a vulnerable seated position, and I was probably being threatened with a weapon in case I tried anything. There was no escape.

So that's how it was... knowing my habit of shutting my eyes in response to annoyances like her, Yuigahama-san had used the opportunity to catch me off-guard and disable my defenses in an instant. I had been so wary of her all this while, yet had failed in the most crucial moment. Inwardly, I cursed my carelessness.

"I see," I said. "So it is the will of Group S to have me silenced?"

Yuigahama-san laughed sheepishly, in the same way she would in response to something she didn't quite understand. "Hey Yukinon, the jokes you make can be really weird sometimes! Ehehe..."

Much to my surprise, the hands covering my eyes were lifted. I opened my eyes to take a look at my assailant...

A female schoolmate sporting a bluish-white ponytail and a sullen look sat on the chair opposite me. Both her hands were rested on her lap, meaning that I was not being threatened with a weapon. On my left, Yuigahama-san had casually taken a seat, humming to herself all the while.

...was this some sort of psychological tactic?

Stealthily, I slid my right hand into the pocket that held my chloroform-soaked handkerchief. "Yuigahama-san, what is this?'

"Ta-dah! It's the first proper client our club has gotten in ages!"

"No, I was asking why Kawasaki Saki-san from Group F is doing your dirty wor- wait, what?"

Yuigahama-san gave a nervous laugh. "Ehehehe... I guess that joke is kinda funny? So you can stop now, okay. It's alright, Yukinon, yup."

Opposite me, Kawasaki-san gave me an affronted look. "I don't think it she was joking. Anyway, how do you know who I am? You a stalker or something?"

...Oh. It appeared I had overreacted. It was an actual client, who would have known. Fighting the mortified blush that was threatening to show itself on my face, I spoke in a level voice: "Of course I would know. I studied all the Group F students for a period of time."

"Uh huh," Kawasaki-san replied flippantly, her expression betraying an inordinate amount of suspicion. "Um, so I was talking to Yuigahama and I kinda let slip that I had money problems..."

"So I told her to come right here!" chirped Yuigahama-san. "We can help her, right?"

"I'm not too sure about that, since the problem does not involve the school..." I sighed, massaging my temples. "The issue is that you lack sufficient finances, right? What is the source of this deficit?"

"Four siblings. And my parents won't be able to afford my college fees, so I'll have to start saving up now."

"Saki-chan wants to get a part time job, but the school probably won't allow it," Yuigahama-san chimed in. "So we need to find her one that doesn't clash with school hours, that she can keep a secret from the people around her."

"I see," I replied. Students getting part-time jobs was definitely against the school rules, and given the fact that Kawasaki-san was in Group F, the school administration would stop at nothing to hunt her down if they found out. "This seems to be the kind of problem that requires critical thinking, which is unfortunately not my forte. Let us begin our discussion when our last member arrives..."

As if on cue, the door slid open.

With his unmistakable lazy trudge, Hikigaya-kun made his appearance. "Sorry I'm late."

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing we're not used to, anyway," I shot back as he took a seat on the far end of the table. Kawasaki-san stared incredulously at him, then at the distance he had put between the rest of us.

"I said I was sorry," he protested, not looking sorry in the least. "Who's this?"

"Kawasaki Saki-san. You know her, right?"

"Y-yeah. We're... uh... oh, right. We're in the same... class..." He shrunk away from Kawasaki-san's murderous glare.

Was it my imagination, or were they behaving overly familiar? "As Kawasaki-san has been telling us," I explained, "she needs a part-time job that she can keep hidden from the school administration."

"Just get her a night job or something," he yawned, flippantly waving his hand. "Nobody will know. As long as she doesn't mind working night hours, right?" He turned toward Kawasaki-san who nodded brusquely.

His behaviour was undeniably strange today. Even Yuigahama-san was staring at him curiously.

"That's a good idea," I said. "Speaking of working night hours, you look like you didn't get much sleep yourself, Hikigaya-kun."

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I was up all night making... preparations."

My eyes narrowed. "What kind of preparations?"

His eyes flicked towards me. "Just some small stuff. Hiratsuka-sensei told us to decide on a location for the upcoming workplace visit and I was up all night researching."

A valid answer. A tad too valid, perhaps. To the point where it sounded rehearsed.

Something was suspicious here. I still had yet to forget Zaimokuza Yoshiteru-kun's case; although I had been unable to confirm it, I was almost certain that Hikigaya-kun had manipulated the request to some extent. Was this the same? Or perhaps...

How ridiculous, to suspect the two clubmates sitting on my right and left. But I had no choice: I had to take control of the situation.

"I suppose we are looking for jobs that will not be available in the newspaper, or online," I said. "In that case, we have no choice but to search for them in person. Isn't that right?"

Hikigaya-kun turned to regard me, unable to keep the uncertainty off his face. "You do realise you're suggesting that we search at night, right? When there are gangs prowling around and all that."

It did not matter which one of my two clubmates was in cahoots with Kawasaki-san, if at all. As long as I threw all three of them off, the tide would turn in my favour.

"Yes," I replied. "In fact, for practicality, we should do it as quickly as possible before the school administration has a chance to catch on. Let us conduct the job search tonight."

Immediately, one head shot up from its dormant position. "Wai-"

"Is there something wrong, Kawasaki-san? You look rather worried."

"N-no, I just... um. You don't need to do all that for me, really."

That reaction was too suspicious... "It's fine, Kawasaki-san," I replied. "What would the Service Club be if we hesitated to help a fellow student in need?"

The chance of collaboration and betrayal within the club was high; now all I needed to do was figure out what Kawasaki-san and her partner were planning to do. If said partner was Yuigahama-san, no doubt they had planned an ambush to take place somewhere in the dark streets of Chiba. In that case, my suggestion had probably thrown a monkey wrench into their plans.

If Hikigaya-kun was the partner, what would their collective motive be? To be frank, I still had little insight into Hikigaya-kun's thought process and ideals, meaning that to predict his actions would be a pointless venture. With Zaimokuza-kun's case as a reference, he most likely intended to cause unnecessary trouble for the club by giving us cases that were difficult to solve. However, I could not possibly fathom the reason why. Was this an action taken against me or Yuigahama-san? Was he trying to smoke one of us out or test our loyalty to the cause?

My train of thought was interrupted by a light cough.

"If it's tonight I'll have to pass," Hikigaya-kun announced. "I need my sleep."

This was to be expected. Regardless of his objectives or whether he was collaborating with Kawasaki-san, Hikigaya-kun would be in a better position when operating from the shadows. That was just the sort of person he was, after all. However, I had another curveball up my sleeve.

"Just as well. As a matter of fact, I will not be participating as well," I said. The air in the clubroom stilled.

"...Yukinon?"

I smiled. "I did not say it was an activity required for the entire club, did I? There are several risks associated with this job. The less personnel we have on it, the better. Besides, I have a personal affairs to attend to tonight."

It took Yuigahama-san around five seconds to digest the implications of this. "Then..."

Rising from my seat, I walked toward Yuigahama-san, placing both hands on her shoulders and staring straight into her eyes. "Yuigahama-san, this is an extremely important job. Kawasaki-san's future prospects, no... the Service Club's very name is staked upon your shoulders. Can I trust you?"

Her cheeks were flushed from excitement; obviously since this was supposedly her chance to prove her usefulness to me. "Yes! I'll do my best!"

"You can free up your schedule tonight, correct? Find Kawasaki-san a job that will sustain her and that will avoid detection."

"Yes, ma'am! I'll tell my mom..."

Hikigaya-kun had kept his face perfectly blank throughout the entire exchange. That might have fooled any other person, but having known him for half a year, I knew better. On ordinary days, one would be hard-pressed to find his face devoid of concentration, distaste or a mixture of both; his expressionlessness was an indication that he was withholding his emotions, and hence was a hint of inner turmoil in and of itself.

A student or two happily chatting, a student or two lounging around... the interior of the clubroom was undeniably peaceful. Few battlegrounds looked like this. But there was no better word than 'War' to describe it. Perhaps these three had yet to grasp this fully, but tonight was going to be the longest night they had experienced by far.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, Approximately 1 year ago]**

The Funeral was lackluster.

There was no other way to describe it. My parents had never been social animals, nor had they been particularly well loved by the other members of our family, but even taking all these factors into consideration the paltry attendance at the funeral had been surprising. Perhaps it was shame from being associated with a married couple that had committed double suicide which kept their loved ones away. Or perhaps ignorance towards the whole affair.

Not that I cared.

Beside me, Komachi sniffled. This much was natural; she had just been rudely reminded of her parents' death, after all.

Finally, a normal expression... Before I could stop myself, a feeling of relief welled up within me. Immediately after came a wave of guilt and self-disgust that I was unable to quell either. My emotions really were out of control today.

It was a strange experience. Here I was, holding my little sister's hand, walking home after attending my parents' funeral, and yet I felt like I was looking all these events transpire through a pane of glass. A bird looking into a birdcage.

"Onii-chan."

Komachi was wiping away her tears with her free hand, her eyes two hollow vortexes of misery. There had been a time where I would have done everything in my power just to take that look off her face, but that time had long passed. Now, it was all unconvincing promises and false smiles. That thought was depressing, so I stopped thinking.

"What is it?"

"Kondo-san is coming at around this time. He'll probably be at our house before we get back..."

"I guess it won't be our house any more, then."

A weak sob escaped her lips. "Isn't there some law..."

"Irrelevant to us now, since our parents did a bunch of illegal stuff," I sighed. "I'm pretty sure these guys have the police and judicial system under their thumbs too."

A heavy silence hung over both of us as we dragged ourselves along. There just wasn't anything to say.

Hello, said the voice in my head.

Oh. You again?

I never left.

What do you want now?

Like I said, I never left. I'm not talking to you because I want to.

By the way, I've never really asked. I know you're in my head, but what are you exactly?

Your conscience. The part of your mind that reminds you to be honest with yourself.

...really?

That was a lie.

Figures. I guess you don't need to tell me... you're a part of me, right?

More than that. I _am_ you.

You wouldn't happen to be holding on to my sealed emotions, would you?

Can't seal what's not there.

Figures. Hey, I don't quite know what to do at this point. Can you help me?

I'm as clueless as you are, y'know.

If nothing happens I'll probably die. And so will Komachi. Probably.

You should let it happen, then. Probably.

I guess so. It's all the same, anyway...

"Hey, Onii-chan."

I jolted out of my reverie. "What is it now?"

"I'm sorry."

The voice in my head vanished. In fact, everything in my head vanished.

"...you're what, now?"

"I'm sorry, I said." Komachi looked vaguely irritated, but it seemed to be more from embarrassment than from hatred. "About just now, when I... I blew up at you."

"There's no need for that," I croaked, still reeling from the shock. "I kind of deserved it."

"Even so," she mumbled, casting her gaze to the ground. "We're probably going to die soon, and I don't want to have any regrets when that happens. So bear with my selfishness just this once, okay?"

This was not what a thirteen year old should be saying.

This was not what a little sister should be saying.

Aren't all teenaged kids supposed to act like brats? Isn't the role of a younger sibling to cause trouble for her older brother? Why are you apologising? Why are you calling your apology 'selfish'? Have you ever been selfish once in your entire life? Have you?

My little sister. You didn't deserve this. Maybe mom and dad had it coming, when they decided to make that investment. You could argue that way. Maybe I deserve everything for ignoring the things that were happening before my very eyes. But what about you? What did you do?

Bad things happen to good people, I know that. I know that. But why?

Always smiling. Always cute, and acting cute just to cheer me up. Always caring. And to pay you back... no. As your big brother, I always vowed I would protect you when the need arose. And yet, why is this happening?

What am I doing?

It was happening for the second time that day; I could feel it. A fresh rush of negative emotion bubbling its way from the bottom up. Grief towards my parents' deaths, worry for my sister, frustration at how little I cared, everything. The voice inside my head had was saying nothing, so I read its lines by myself. _This again? What a riot. When will you ever learn that you have nothing pent up at all? You can't even make a good show of crying if you want to. And what good is crying going to do?_

 _You're always like this. Selfish to an unbelievable degree. Pretending to be so concerned for your sister but in the end only caring about your own emotions. Your own tears. Your own internal conflict._

 _How selfish. Extremely selfish. Ridiculously selfish._

And then, without hesitation or forewarning, a miracle occured.

Perhaps it was due to the pool of negative emotion threatening to overflow, or the stress from my circumstances, or perhaps even the despair from floundering around aimlessly for such a long time. Whatever it was, in that moment, something in me snapped.

 _...actually, what's wrong with that?_

I tightened my grip on Komachi's hand.

"I'm sorry too."

She shot me a tired smile. "For what? Finally admitting to being a sorry excuse of a brother?"

I tightened my grip further. From now on, I promised myself, I was never letting go of her.

"Ah, sorry. That was a joke-"

"No, you're right."

"Eh?"

What kind of face was I making? It must be a very shocking one, for Komachi to show that kind of expression. "I have been a pathetic brother. But I'm not sorry for that."

"...eh?"

"I'm apologising for what I'm about to do." Turning around to face my sister, I gripped both her shoulders. "Listen up. Onii-chan's gonna be selfish too."

"W-what are you saying?" A halted, dry laugh. "No matter what you do, we have to go home right after this and face the music-"

"Then let's not go home."

"Wha-"

"I have some money on me right now. We'll go live at an internet cafe or something. When we run out of cash I'll find some work to make more. We don't have to face this."

"There you go again, running away from reality," she choked, tears starting to well up in her eyes again. "That kind of thing isn't possible. We'll die!"

"We're going to die anyway, the rate we're going. If Kondo-san wants our home so much, he can have it. He can take whatever we've left back at that place. But he won't take away our freedom. Trust your big brother. We'll make it somehow!"

"What... what are you..."

"Just imagine it! Nice and warm, with all the internet you want. You'll like that, won't you? It doesn't have to be a cafe either. We can sleep inside the library, go camping inside the park, maybe even spend some time on the streets to see what it's like. Imagine the possibilities!"

"What are you _saying_? You... you big _dummy_!" She was outright sobbing now. It was the childish crying of a thirteen year old girl, completely different from the despaired weeping she had displayed just minutes earlier, and the relief that came from seeing my sister finally cry like a normal girl far outweighed the guilt of making her cry in the first place.

"If gangs and loan sharks find us, we'll just move to another place. With my observational skills and your planning, I'm sure we'll be unstoppable! You can imagine it, right? The invincible Hikigaya sibling duo, toughing it out on their own!"

" _Onii-chan_." A pair of tightly-clenched fists grabbed the hem of my shirt and forced my head down, bringing my eyes to face her furious red-rimmed orbs. " _Shut up_."

I smiled; this was an improvement from what she had shown earlier. Or maybe I was a masochistic pervert siscon. I couldn't quite tell the difference. "I'm serious, you know. Maybe you think it's all a pipe dream, and you're right. But I want to make this pipe dream work."

"You... you're always so..."

Komachi's petite frame trembled with anger and exhaustion. Somewhere along the line we had stopped walking, a brother and his crying sister standing in the middle of the roadside pavement. An ordinary pair of siblings, in an ordinary place, on an ordinary day.

But maybe, just maybe, something extraordinary would be nice for a change.

Komachi hugged me, for the first time in months. Or maybe years. She grumbled into my shoulder, her voice muffled, "Komachi is mad at you, Onii-chan. I probably won't stop being mad, ever."

"I know."

"You're always like this. How many years has Komachi had to suffer because of your nonsense?"

"I know."

"But if you're gonna be selfish, I guess it can't be helped. I'll follow you to the end. You won't survive a day without me, geez!"

"Yeah."

Just like that.

Years of suffering and frustration melted away into a fresh start, and all it took was a miracle. Frankly, I hadn't expected it to be this easy.

The street had been completely empty during our entire exchange; only when the conversation had ended did a person show up on the opposite side of the road. A girl walking her dog. (It _was_ a nice day for walking one's dog, come to think of it.) The dog, a dachshund, jerked its leash out of its owner's hand and raced across the road towards us while barking merrily.

Both brother and sister stared at the ecstatic dog and its panicking owner, and we simultaneously burst out laughing. In a society with so much filth under its surface, it was easy to forget that daily life and trivial events like this could happen too.

Komachi seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Hey, Onii-chan. We... won't be able to go back after this, right? To anything like a normal life."

"Yeah. Not like we have much of a choice."

"True, true," she hummed. "But it's fine! Let's go look for places to stay later."

"Yeah." Maybe life like this wouldn't be so bad if I could live it with my sister, I mused as Komachi let go of my hand and darted onto the road to scoop the dachshund into her arms. I smiled: a warm, familial feeling had filled my chest. Or maybe I was a sadistic pervert siscon. I really couldn't tell.

A sleek black limousine drove along the road. I was fairly sure it had exceeded the speed limit, and it took me a moment to realise what was happening.

A moment too late.

The crash was barely audible, for a crash. No sound of snapping bones or beaten flesh, just a soft _thump_. In that split second, before my mind registered it, my body could only watch as my little sister crumpled to the ground in an unassuming heap.

Watching from behind a pane of glass.

A bird looking into a birdcage, but trapped all the same.

Just like that. Didn't even take a miracle this time.

And I stared, like the bystander that I was and ever would be, at my sister who had been crushed. I stared at our bond, undeniably severed. I stared at the hope for our future that just wasn't there anymore. I stared, and I stared, and I stared.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 29th June, 1800 hours]**

"Aaaaand we're all set!" cheered Yuigahama, grabbing her bag. "Let's walk to the station now, Saki-chan! It's gonna be a long night!"

Kawasaki nodded, her face steeled with determination.

"Have fun, both of you," Yukinoshita said with a faint smile on her face. According to her she was going to head home right after this for a family gathering, but her real intentions were clear as day; she would be keeping a close eye on me just in case I tried to stalk Yuigahama and Kawasaki from the shadows.

All according to plan.

What I was planning to do would inevitably change the dynamic of my vendetta against the Service Club: whether for better or for worse was completely up to my performance. It was illegal, risky, and the consequence of failure could potentially cause me to lose my entire carefully-planned game. But this was the bare minimum I had to put in if I wanted a chance of victory.

What would Komachi say, if she saw me doing all this? Controlling the societal forces that had once oppressed us, toughing it out on my own, living the pipe dream that I had invented in a moment of impulse... would she be elated or disappointed?

 _If only you could see this... it's not quite 'the invincible Hikigaya sibling duo' without you, y'know._

 _Do I regret things? Maybe. But this is the path I've chosen to go down..._

Shakily, I exhaled.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, Approximately 1 year ago]**

I sat in a fetal position outside the emergency department of Chiba's only known hospital while my sister lay at death's door just metres away. The owner of the dachshund she had saved had apologised several times and had even accompanied us to the hospital, but she had gone to the washroom for around half a minute and I had already forgotten what her face looked like. The world was a blur.

Shock? No, denial. I sat on the floor, head between my hands and hitches between my breaths.

The voice in my head had returned, and I couldn't ignore it no matter how hard I tried. How was I supposed to remain calm in such a situation when I couldn't even shut myself out?

A commotion was brewing in my proximity, and the sound of numerous footsteps approached. Slowly, I cracked my left eye open.

A number of men in black suits and shades, the kind you would only see in movies, had surrounded the door of the operating room. If that wasn't bizarre enough, they were holding firearms that were all pointed at me. One of them, presumably their leader, stepped forward.

"Young man, I am not the kind of person who indulges in pleasantries. But out of sympathy for your pathetic state I will be blunt. Do you know why this is happening to you?"

My mind was blank. Something at the back of my head was telling me to run, but I only processed the man's question.

"...Are you guys from Kondo-san?"

"Ah, so you do not know. Very good. Then this ignorance shall be your final blessing." The sound of multiple rifles cocking echoed through the empty hall.

Empty... ah, they must have overpowered all the hospital staff.

"Ah, w-Wait! ...please. Just one question."

The man's eyes seemed to narrow. They were behind his shades, so it was hard to tell. "Very well. Let it not be said that Rei of the Winter faction is a heartless brute who will deny a dying man his last wish. If it is a question, I suppose I can indulge you."

"What... will happen to my sister?"

"She will die too, of course. Those who have seen Yashiro-sama's face cannot be allowed to live."

"No, hang on. We don't know anyone of that name-"

"Yashiro-sama is a highly important figure at the top of the winter faction and it would be undesirable If his identity is revealed. You saw him just half an hour ago as we performed a covert operation. That is sufficient reason to silence you."

 _Half an hour ago?_ Murky confusion floated amidst the sea of despair in my mind.

"...Oh. So you guys were the ones in the car?"

"Yes."

"I swear I didn't see the faces of anyone in there-"

"And how do I know you aren't lying?" Rei sneered, leaning in close that his face was eye-to-eye with mine. "Enough idle talk. Your time is up."

Finally. My time was up. How long I had waited for somebody to say that. How long I had waited for my comeuppance to arrive. Death was approaching in just a few seconds.

To me, who had absolutely nothing left, a few seconds felt like an eternity.

...

...

Heya.

I knew you would come.

Like I said, I never left.

This is it, I guess. You'll die when I die, right?

Of course. I'm you, after all.

I don't get that.

That?

What you're saying. How can you be me? I'm me, so you can't be me too.

Asking the real questions only when nothing matters anymore, huh. Well... to be specific, I'm the 'you' that you put away.

When I became a bystander?

Exactly. Out of self defense, your mind created a separate self to deal with your hardships, which is what you are now. In a sense, I'm more genuine than you are.

I see. I... really don't feel like living anymore.

It's a little too late to say that now...

I don't want to live like this anymore. Looking at my own death from a third person's perspective, it's laughable. Will anything change if I let you take over?

Not when all the fingers are on their respective triggers, no.

It's worth a shot. How do I let you take over?

Who knows? Maybe you've already done it. I am but a figment of your imagination, after all. Besides. Whatever happens, you'll still be you.

So I can't do anything?

Just wait for death, I suppose.

...

...

Komachi will die too.

Can't be helped.

I never got to apologise to my parents.

Maybe you will, if there is an afterlife.

I guess this is the point where my life starts flashing before my eyes?

Nah. That's the bit between the time you're born and the time you die.

I see.

...

...

I grabbed Rei's head and pulled it down.

A collective gasp rippled through the empty corridor. A number of poised fingers simultaneously stilled.

 _So this is power, huh._

"You little _brat_ ," Rei hissed, trying his utmost to worm out of my grip. Calmly, I slipped a thumb under his shades, probed until it found soft flesh, and pushed.

The imposing men in black suits shrank back as their leader gave an agonised cry. Now _this_ was something you wouldn't normally see in a movie. I dug my thumb further into Rei's eye socket, using the inner surface of his skull for a better grip.

"I don't mind dying," I said, above the groans and cries coming from Rei of the Winter Faction. "But if you shoot, he dies as well. So you shouldn't shoot, just to see what happens. It'll be a lot more fun that way, trust me."

"You bastard!" roared one of the men. "You won't get away with opposing the Winter Faction! Let go now, and your death will be quick!"

 _That's true... I didn't think I would get this far._

All of a sudden, I was the main character of a bizarre story. Everybody's eyes were on me, watching out for my next move.

...

...

Um... hey. What should I do now?

...hello? Are you there?

...I see.

...

...

Shakily, I exhaled.

"Alright, then..."

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 29th June, 1800 hours]**

"...Let's do this."

 **END OF CHAPTER 7**

 **Author's Note: Hey I didn't take so long this time :) Next up: The most complex game of nocturnal hide and seek the Service Club has ever seen!**


	8. Chapter 8

**[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 1830 hours]**

Yahallo, everyone! My name is Yuigahama Yui and I am a student from Sobu High. Currently I am with my friend and classmate Kawasaki Saki-chan, and we are working our hardest to find Saki-chan a part-time night job!

"As if!" Saki-chan yells. She is very good at playing the straight man. "All we've done is slack off inside this cafe! What's with that cheesy self-introduction anyway? And don't change the narrative voice to present tense!"

I tilt my head. "Present tense?"

"Yeah, just like that! Turn it back!"

I grin defiantly at her.

Saki-chan's shoulders shake with suppressed anger. "Yuigahama... you..."

"What is it?"

"You look like a reserved and nice person on the surface, but to think you've been hiding this kind of personality underneath... you're a weird girl."

"And you are a mochi maker, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Every New Years we knead it like this, and then we hammer it and hammer it - wait, why am I going along with your nonsense!?"

Saki-chan seems to be getting tired of the entire routine. Feeling sorry for her, I subtly switched back to past tense.

"That's not subtle _at all_!"

Currently both of us were sitting in a cafe in the downtown area and watching the sunset while sipping coffee. Despite her protests while coming in, Saki-chan had ordered a cup too.

She set her cup down on its saucer. "Yuigahama. I'm really grateful for everything your club is doing for me, but..."

Oh, she was being considerate! How sweet! My heart swelled with the warmth of friendship. "Oh, don't worry about it! It's only natural that we'd help our friends in need! Is there something bothering you?"

"... _but_ , are we getting started anytime soon?"

 _Ah. Nevermind._

"Relax, Saki-chan!" I said, waving off her protests. "There is a purpose to this."

"Which is?"

I leaned in, my face serious. "Saki-chan, what do you think is the meaning of life?"

"It's something so deep? Um, well, uh... if you were to ask me, I'd say something like... making sure the people you care for are happy?"

 _Ah, so she's that sort of girl._ I was starting to like her more and more. "Well, but it's different for different people, right?"

"I... guess so."

"Like, for example. Yukinon would probably say something like 'achieving a net positive impact with your actions, no matter how despicable they are'," here I deepened my voice to give an impression of Yukinon, and Saki-chan stifled a laugh, "and Hikki would probably say something like 'avoiding stupid questions like this one', but those answers aren't really right or wrong."

"Even the last answer? That sounds pretty wrong to me."

'Even the last answer," I nodded. "Because it gives me an insight to how Hikki thinks. See, each person perceives 'right' and 'wrong' in slightly different ways, but I believe that everybody is a good person under all that."

"Your own definition of a 'good' person is limited, though. Right? Since everybody has a different perception of 'good'."

"Saki-chan," I gasped. "Could it be... you're actually a genius?"

"Don't patronise me," she grumbled, ducking her head as a blush crept over her face. I felt a strong urge to start taking pictures.

"I know it's limited," I continued, setting my cup down, "but no matter how you twist it, 'good' and 'bad' are two completely different things. One day, if I meet a person who is truly 'bad', who cannot be seen as 'good' from any perspective, maybe I'll change my mind. But in the meantime, I will try my best to understand the people around me and figure out what their view of the world is like, so that I can see the 'good' in them. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," she replied, thoughtfully taking a sip of coffee. "I kinda get you."

"And that's my answer. To me, the meaning of life would be to keep on trying to understand people, even if it is impossible."

Through an adjacent window, the setting sun cast its golden rays on our table. I felt like our relationship had deepened just a bit.

"Right, cool. But... wait. How is that related to why we're here?"

"Oh, that? It's cuz I wanted to see the setting sun from inside a cafe."

Deftly, I ducked as Saki-chan's schoolbag whizzed over my head.

" _You..._ "

Messing with her was so fun, gosh. "Now, now, calm down, Saki-chan. There's another reason. Did you wonder why I wanted to sit next to the window?"

"Yuigahama, I swear if this is about watching the sun again-"

"It's not. I think we're being followed."

Her facial muscles froze. All of a sudden her expression was well-guarded, but years of experience in reading people's faces allowed me to pick up slight traces of caution and surprise. From the strange glint in her eyes, the wheels must be turning quickly in her head.

 _Interesting reaction..._

After a few seconds, she gave up thinking and leaned back in her chair. "Followed? By who? Oh, and pass my bag back, please."

"Yukinon, of course. Who else? Maybe even Hikki too."

"Eh? Yukinoshita? Didn't she go home?'

"That's what she said, of course. But today she left the clubroom before we did. But she always leaves last so that she can lock up the clubroom. You know what that means?" I picked up the bag on the floor and handed it to her.

"Thanks. Um... I guess that means she didn't get to lock up today?"

"Well, yes..."

 _Too straight, Saki-chan! Even your deductions are straight!_

Saki-chan leaned forward to rest her head on the table. My left hand grabbed my right arm, forcing it to put my phone back in my pocket before I could start taking pictures.

"Did you or Hikigaya lock up, then?"

I paused. "Well, we've never really bothered..."

"Seriously? Wow, talk about irres-"

"A-anyway! Yukinon probably left early to go somewhere before us-"

"And you think she's been trailing us since we entered the train station?" Saki-chan hummed and drew circles on the table with her index finger. "Why would she go out of her way to do all that, though? Hikigaya, too. It would probably take something big to make him spend all that effort..."

I thought about this for a moment. Then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit me.

"They... must be really worried about us!"

Saki-chan gave me a look which seemed to say _I'm not sure if this girl is smart or very stupid_. "Why not just join us, then?"

"Well, you know. It's just what they're like. I think it's called, uh..."

"Tsundere?"

"Yeah, that. They always act like they don't care but they do. Maybe not about _me_ , exactly, but definitely about the club."

I obviously wasn't going to tell Saki-chan that Hikki and Yukinon still didn't trust me, but that didn't matter much to begin with anyway. We had the same goals, so working together was bound to bring us closer soon! Probably. Maybe.

Briefly, I scanned the scenery outside the window. Slow-moving peak hour traffic had filled the road with vehicles, so there was no way Yukinon could be watching us from inside a car. A couple was hanging around the side of the cafe, a beautiful lady was smoking right next to them and on a nearby bench sat an old man reading a newspaper. None of these could possibly be Yukinon in disguise (I didn't know if Yukinon would use disguises for this kind of thing, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did).

 _Oh, but... what if..._

Ignoring Saki-chan's squeak of surprise, I whipped around and scanned the inside of the cafe. Salarymen here and there, a few clusters of high school students, but no sign of Yukinon at all.

 _Maybe my hunch was off...?_

"It should be fine if it's the both of them following us, right?" Saki-chan yawned, picking herself up. "At least it's not gangsters or anything like that..."

"...No."

"Eh?"

"It's not okay," I said. I knew I was being childish, but being childish was a part of who I am and I didn't want to pretend otherwise in front of Saki-chan. "I don't want Yukinon to keep hiding and running from me. If she hates me, she should say so! If she doesn't think I'm capable enough, she should say so! I can't understand if she doesn't tell me!"

"Ah, but maybe she's the kind of person who's more reserved and would rather not put her innermost thoughts into words-"

"Hikki, too! I've spent, what, half a year with him? And I still don't have a single clue about what's going on in that head of his!"

"I can relate to that, but maybe giving him some space would be the right-"

"I don't care!" I exclaimed, standing up and knocking my chair over. "How am I supposed to understand them if they keep doing stuff like this? Alright, it's settled! I'm going to start my counterattack by exposing Yukinon, and you are going to help me, Saki-chan!"

"S-sure, but what about my part-time job-"

"We'll do that along the way!"

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 1900 hours]**

Reclining backwards into my seat, I took a sip of coffee. I had tailed Yuigahama-san and Kawasaki-san to the train station, but had not followed them into the cafe on the other side of the road. Naturally, keeping my distance meant that I could not observe their actions in person, but there were other means to achieve that.

Ensuring that nobody was watching, I activated the communication device pinned to my collar. "Alpha squad, report."

"Yes, Ojou-sama. All of us are in the area outside the cafe right now."

I peered out of the window, and four individuals waved at me from the other side of the road: A teenage couple, a lady in expensive-looking attire and an elderly man.

"You're using disguises?"

"That is correct, Ojou-sama." The point of contact seemed to be the one that looked like an elderly man, who was most likely using the newspaper in his hands to conceal his communication device. "The rest of the squad members are dressed up as salarymen and are inside the cafe."

Though I was tackling several operations at once, agents of the Yukinoshita family were more than enough to supplement my lack of manpower. My Father would undoubtedly be upset with me for using our family's political assets on trivial matters such as this, but in a sense this was a relevant case. Sobu High's mastermind had shown himself to have connections to the Chiba's criminal underground. Taking into account Yuigahama-san's connections to Group S, which probably worked under the Mastermind directly, I was not prepared to take any chances.

 _This side seems to be doing well, but what about Hikigaya-kun?_ "Beta squad, report."

"Forgive us, Ojou-sama. We lost track of our target."

 _...what?_

Regardless of how much experience Hikigaya-kun had in Chiba's criminal underworld, these were agents of the Yukinoshita family. They had dealings in the world of crime as well; in fact, the underworld would not be the same without them! And yet, so easily...

 _Hikigaya Hachiman, just what kind of monster are you?_

I gripped the edge of the table. "Where are you now? How did he manage to shake you off?"

"At the train station. He disappeared into the crowd just minutes ago."

"Don't tell me you haven't been trained to counter maneuvers like that," I spat. "And even I know what to do in that sort of situation: Stop trying to look for him in the crowd and monitor all the exits instead!"

"That's exactly what we did, Ojou-sama," protested my point of contact with Beta squad. "We are currently watching every exit closely. No train has arrived yet, so the crowd of people has not changed. We are underground, so the chance of any secret passageways is low. The only plausible place he could be is within the crowd of people. A few members of our squad are mingling with the crowd to search for him, but he has somehow managed to evade all three of them for five whole minutes!"

Momentarily losing control, I let slip an unladylike growl. "Then check the surveillance camera records!"

"Eight of us are doing that currently, but the target angled himself in a way to obscure himself from the security cameras as well when he disappeared... and there has been no footage of him for the past five minutes either."

 _Is that even physically possible?_

Impatiently, I tapped the surface of the table. _Think. If you knew you were being followed... the exits are sealed, the security cameras are being monitored and a bunch of them are coming down the escalator to search for you. If you were Hikigaya Hachiman, what would you do?_

 _Probably... up the escalator. But why would he do that?_

"Do the surveillance cameras have any blind spots near the entrance of the station?"

"Y-yes," replied my point of contact. "The cameras only capture the area between the entrance of the stadium and the escalators. There are two short pillars on either side of the entrance that are out of range, but we have verified that the target is not hiding there."

Another dead end. _Honestly, I should have overseen that operation myself. How much time do I have left?_

"Has the train arrived yet?"

"It is pulling into the station now, Ojou-sama. Rest assured, we will watch the train doors carefully and follow the target if he happens to reappear and enter any carriage. However, it is our postulation that he has somehow left the station."

 _Another physically impossible feat. It's underground, for goodness' sake!_ Out loud I said: "Is his bicycle still outside the station?"

"Yes. It is parked outside."

Caring not for my public image, I bit on my thumb hard enough to draw blood. Even then, no brainwave came with the pain and the coppery taste of blood in my mouth. "Maybe he donned a disguise-"

"Impossible. We have identified every individual with the same footwear, clothing or facial features as the target, and have verified that none of them are him. No matter how quickly he disguised himself, he could not have changed his entire appearance."

Through the crackling static from my transceiver, I could hear the announcement in the background. _The train is arriving at the platform... please stand behind the yellow line..._

 _I'm running out of time. If I were Hikigaya-kun, would I trick my pursuers into searching the station while I somehow get outside? Or would I get them to think that I am outside the station while avoiding detection inside? Which one would be the most effective?_

 _...the latter, probably. That one fits Hikigaya-kun's style more. But how would I avoid detection? A disguise? Slipping among the people? To Hikigaya-kun, man is the best tool; I would not put it past him to use all these ignorant bystanders as pawns to conceal himself._

 _Or maybe... he is using the predictability of our operation procedures to his advantage? Not approaching any exit, staying out of range of the surveillance cameras and avoiding the main crowd... he would have to do something crazy to accomplish all three..._

Then, it hit me. A ridiculous idea that only Hikigaya Hachiman would be able to pull off.

Once again, I activated my transceiver. "Any updates?"

"None, Ojou-sama."

"Describe the structure of the station to me- no, there's no time. Just tell me, is the station separated into two levels?"

"Yes. They are joined by a pair of escalators and nothing else."

"But the ceiling is even, right?"

"As in, completely flat? Yes, that is so..."

"And its architectural structure requires it to have rafters, yes?"

My point of contact paused for a moment. Then revelation struck him as well. "Ojou-sama, you can't be saying-"

"That he disappeared into the crowd, went up the escalator when he saw your men coming for him, approached one of the pillars beside the station entrance while staying outside the range of all the surveillance cameras, climbed up to reach the ceiling while you were not looking, and has stayed on the rafters for the past five minutes? Yes, that is what I am saying."

By the silence on the other end, my point of contact was scanning the roof. "An excellent idea! But I cannot see him at all... Ahhhh!"

My hand slammed onto the table, causing my coffee cup and saucer to tremble. Several patrons of the cafe were giving me reproaching looks, not that I minded. "Did you find him?"

But my point of contact was not paying attention to me, instead barking out orders like a madman.

"Thirteen to fifteen, you're the closest! Go secure him... _that one, you dimwit!_ That guy in the school uniform that _just climbed down the pillar five metres away from you! He's getting away!_ One to eight, enter the other train carriages! If we cannot subdue him here, you should at least get onto the same train as him... _what do you mean, the crowd is too thick!?_ "

 _The train doors are closing. All passengers, please stand behind the yellow line and await the next one..._

Static crackled for a good five seconds before I heard my point of contact's dejected voice: "My apologies, Ojou-sama, but the target timed it too well. It seems we have lost him for real this time."

 _Well, that's to be expected..._

"It's fine," I replied. "Also, I instructed you to follow him, not subdue him."

"...right. My apologies. I forgot in the heat of the moment."

 _This operation has gotten slightly more complicated._ I bit my lip. "That train... was it headed in the downtown direction?"

"It was. Do you think he is headed for where you are, Ojou-sama?"

"Yes. Gather the rest of your squad and liaise with me at location D-5, please."

"At your command."

Static crackled as my transceiver changed voice channels.

"Alpha squad reporting. Ojou-sama, the two targets have left the cafe."

I glanced out of the window and sure enough, Yuigahama-san was pulling Kawasaki-san away from the cafe by the hand. "Do you have any idea where they are headed?"

"Well, the pink-haired one mentioned going to the mall..."

"Follow them."

"At your command."

"Beta squad, disregard my previous instruction. Liaise with me at the mall as well."

"At your command."

Nothing was set in stone just yet, of course. It was only natural for Hikigaya-kun to evade a group of agents that he did not recognise, and his motive for heading to where we were was still unclear. But it did not matter whether his intention was to aid or sabotage, or whether he was planning to do so from the shadows or out in the open. If it was a fight that Hikigaya-kun wanted, then I would bring the fight to him.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 29th June, 1910 hours]**

 _Well, that was fun._

Snapping the novel in my hand shut, I stood up straight. As the train carriage rocked, I swayed along to its motion aside the other passengers. While it was hard to determine exactly how much of himself Dazai Osamu had portrayed in his allegedly autobiographical work, 'No Longer Human' had been an entertaining read nonetheless.

To give the entire story a crude summary, it was about a troubled individual plagued by circumstance and his own inner demons. Poetic projection and flowery terms aside, it was a fairly accurate portrayal of the average human being. Or perhaps one who was slightly less fortunate than average.

Speaking of unfortunate, why did I have to be targeted by a bunch of goons on the day of my big plan? Murphy's law, probably. Those thugs wouldn't have used such boring tactics if they had known who I really was, so for the most part I assumed I was safe. But if they didn't know, what was I being followed for? I would have to investigate this later.

The train doors slid open sluggishly and a sea of business suits spilled out into the world outside. Wordlessly, I rode the wave of people out of the station. Any bystander observing this scene would definitely get the feeling of homogeneity, that all humans were the same. And he would not be wrong. What was the difference between a corporate slave returning home from work and a high school student planning to take over the world? Both were equally rotten on the inside.

Yuigahama Yui was no exception, that I was certain of. However, there were many things about her that I still did not understand. For starters, how the inside of her head worked. Hanging onto the belief that every person was good underneath? She had trampled people on her way up to Group S; there was no way she was still green to the ugliness that humans could show. Not to mention her attitude didn't seem to be that of a self-deceiving individual who adopted her ideology just to convince herself that she was a good person despite her wrongdoings.

How, then, were her ideals even remotely sustainable? That was exactly what i was going to find out today. Perhaps even find something to blackmail her with. That would be a nice bonus.

But doing so by observing her directly would be extremely challenging. She was, no doubt, going to keep her 'Nice Girl' facade up regardless of whether Yukinoshita or I were there or not. Not to mention, Yukinoshita herself was probably following her, waiting for me to join the party. Knowing Yukinoshita, she had most likely taken into account every possible place I could hide at in the downtown area; going in there would be equivalent to charging into an enemy base. Just thinking about it sent chills down my spine.

And that was why I would not be going there.

Triumphant pride at rendering all of Yukinoshita's plans redundant compelled me to quicken my paces.

 _Is this the place?_

A large brass nameplate that read 'Yuigahama' adorned the front gate that I stood in front of. Beyond the gate, inside the house, I could see a woman busy in the kitchen. The mother, probably.

Yukinoshita could look for me all she wanted. Yuigahama could fake all she wanted. But in the meantime, I would be searching for valuable information inside Yuigahama's room to my heart's content.

Avoiding the gaze of the Yuigahama matriarch, I let myself in through a window on the second floor.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 1930 hours]**

"All squads, report."

"Alpha squad here. Scouts have covered the entire mall and are watching all exits."

"Beta squad reporting. Our targets are currently inside the store with unit number 02-23. We have covered the outside of the store and have ensured there are no other exits."

The point where I supervised the operation from was a fountain in the middle of the mall, where I could gain a clear view of almost every location. I tapped on my transceiver. "Do you have men inside the store?"

"I-it's a lingerie shop, Ojou-sama."

I scanned the second floor, and there it was; thirteen or so men in black suits were gathered in front of the store's entrance, trying to look as aloof and irrelevant as possible. Despite their earnest efforts, passers-by were giving them strange looks.

...Good grief.

"Are there no female members in the squad?"

"None. Your esteemed father assigned all of them to infiltrate a parliamentary social gathering, Ojou-sama."

I considered this for a moment. For the past hour or so, Yuigahama-san and Kawasaki-san had floated from store to store before finally arriving at this one. Although my father's men had confirmed that their purpose for visiting the stores was to inquire about part-time jobs, the whole routine could be a ruse to throw me off. In fact, given the abnormally long time they had spent in the lingerie shop, it was highly probable that they had sensed their pursuers and spent the past hour ascertaining that these pursuers were male, hence entering a location where they would not be followed.

Obviously, it was an open invitation for me to enter the store in person. But just what were they planning to do there?

Not to mention, Hikigaya-kun had yet to show his face. If he was the one collaborating with Kawasaki-san, perhaps Yuigahama-san had been lured into the shop and incapacitated. As desirable as I found this scenario, the real issue was what Kawasaki-san planned to do with her partner next, whoever the partner was. My inability to obtain a full grasp of the situation vexed me more than it should have.

I took a deep breath. "I'm going in, then."

"Roger that. We'll back you up."

"Stay vigilant," I commanded as I travelled up the escalator. "Alpha squad, report any suspicious movement in the surrounding area."

"At your command."

The members of Beta squad stood at attention as I approached the store. Members of the general public on the third floor turned to look at us curiously.

...Good _grief._

"As far as we have been able to see, they entered the changing booth on the far left a few minutes ago," one of the agents reported. "Be careful in there, Ojou-sama."

"You don't need to tell me, but thank you anyway," I sighed. If Yuigahama-san and Kawasaki-san were to open the door of the changing booth and see me, the game would be up. Taking this into consideration, I lurked in the furthest corner from the entrance.

Not to mention the only source of real action I had seen today was nowhere to be found. What was taking him so long?

Honestly, I had not expected this operation to go this way. I had imagined an elaborate game of hide and seek, but somehow that had morphed into stalking two of my schoolmates who were currently buying sexually attractive underwear-

"Valued customer?"

I blinked. A shop attendant was standing in front of me with an expression that was professionally engineered to look helpful.

"You seem to be having trouble with choosing. Is this your first time here?"

It took me a while to understand, but when it finally dawned on me that she thought I was a customer I felt my ears grow red hot. "Wh- no! I mean, um, yes, but I'm not here to-"

"It's alright, I understand. Ladies tend to be a bit shy when it's their first time purchasing lingerie!" To my horror, she gave me a conspiratorial wink. "Do you have any particular piece in mind?"

 _S-she wants me to... to... c-c-choose? V-very well. Two people can play this game. I am the proud heir of the Yukinoshita family! Choosing a set of u-u-underwear is nothing! Nothing at all! Well technically the heir is Nee-san but I'm inheriting the family's business, so to speak, so that makes me the heir in a way-_

"Um, valued customer?"

Reflexively, I grabbed the nearest set of lingerie and held it out in front of me with both hands like a shield. "I'll take t-this one, please!"

"Oooh, now _that's_ a good one!" She took the set from me and admired it close-up. "You sure have good taste, valued customer!"

Another conspiratorial wink. I could almost see my own cheeks redden further.

A muted _click_ sounded from the entrance of the store. All thirteen members of Beta squad were staring straight at me; my shouting and flustered demeanour must have given them the impression that I was being threatened. One of them had even pulled out a gun, ready to fire at the first sign of danger.

"Hey! I'm fine, so put that back right now! I don't want any bloodshed!"

"E-ehhh?" the attendant flinched, surprised. "You don't want it after all?"

"Ah... no, not you."

"Oh." She turned around, puzzled, but all thirteen had disappeared from sight.

I took a quick glance at the changing booth's enclosed entrance; Yuigahama-san and Kawasaki-san had not emerged yet. My shouting should have alerted them to my presence, but I was far enough to wager that they had not heard anything. Even so, what was taking them so long?

"The design _is_ good. But even so, valued customer..."

I snapped out of my reverie once again. "Yes?"

"Would you... um... prefer a smaller size, perhaps?"

I stared at her. She was staring at my chest.

I stared at the set of lingerie. Admittedly, it would have fit somebody like Yuigahama-san better.

I stared at her. She was staring at me.

I projected my voice towards the entrance. "Hey, I changed my mind. Take the gun back out."

"Ehhhhhhhh!? Please don't make such jokes, valued customer!"

I sighed. I was not actually intending to buy the set, but perhaps I would be able to get a clearer picture of the situation if I was in one of the other changing booths. In that case, I would need an excuse to be in that area. "Yes, please. Find me something that is... less voluptuous."

The attendant shot me a sympathetic look. "We have some sets with padding. Would you like to try those out too?"

"R-right. I'll try that as well."

 _It's alright! I am the proud heir of the Yukinoshita family. Going by genetics, there is still hope for me!_

 _Good grief._

For now, I would obtain the lingerie and hide myself in the adjacent changing booth. If it was a trap, Beta squad would be waiting outside to rush to my aid, so there was a low probability of Kawasaki-san and her partner pulling anything off. If possible, I would be able to hear the conversations they were having, be it about some sinister objective or Kawasaki-san's part-time job...

 _...Wait. If they're here to inquire about a part-time job, what are they doing in the changing booth?_

Ignoring the store attendant's squeak of shock, I strode over to the leftmost changing booth and flung the curtain open.

It was empty, save for a few stray sets of underwear.

 _Looks like I've been had._

Beta squad had already begun to scatter. Impatiently, I tapped my transceiver. "Alpha squad, the targets have escaped. Prioritize all hidden passageways and watch all possible exits of the mall."

"At your command."

"What about the security cameras? Any leads?"

"None, Ojou-sama."

I scanned the interior of the changing booth. Unlike Hikigaya-kun, Yuigahama-san was not physically adept enough to crawl up the wall unnoticed, so there must have been some sort of opening. Either that, or they left the store in disguise.

With thirteen highly-trained men guarding the entrance, the latter was highly unlikely. So all that left was...

There!

"Alpha squad, send me a map of the air ventilation system."

"It has been done. You think that the targets escaped through the air ducts?"

I double checked the changing booth before approaching the air duct on the ceiling; sure enough, the grille was not securely attached to its hinges, meaning that somebody had removed and replaced it from the inside. "I am certain. Prioritize the security cameras on the outside of the mall, please."

So it was Yuigahama-san who was cooperating with Kawasaki-san, just as I had expected. In that case Hikigaya-kun had probably gone home, true to his word.

Had they known about my task force, Yuigahama-san and Kawasaki-san would definitely have taken better measures to elude me like what Hikigaya-kun had done. Although their plan was perfect for throwing a single follower off, they had underestimated me and would now pay the price.

"Alpha squad reporting! Both targets have exited the mall via the ventilation system, just as you said! They are now in the back alley area!"

Finally, the action I had been waiting for. "All squads excluding members in the security room, pursue them. Those in the security room, continue monitoring the entrances and update me if anyone suspicious follows us or them. Just in case they have reinforcements."

"At your command."

"At your command!"

Briskly, I strode towards the entrance of the lingerie store. I was never going to set foot in one again, I silently vowed.

"Um, valued customer! So... you won't be taking this after all?"

Right, the shop attendant. "No," I replied, whipping around to face her. "After consideration, it does not fit my taste."

She looked downtrodden. "Really? I thought it would look great on you..."

The set she was holding had padding on it.

I shifted my weight around on the balls of my feet impatiently. Needless to say, I had better things to do; Yuigahama-san and Kawasaki-san were getting away, and we were all on the verge of a great pursuit that would probably run throughout the night. Every second spent here was a second wasted.

On the other hand...

"A-alright. How much is it?"

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2000 hours]**

We raced down the dimly-lit alleyway, panting heavily. Rather, I was the only one panting; Saki-chan simply let herself be pulled along and jogged to match my pace. I had to admit, this girl was really fit.

After a long stretch of aimless running, my legs gave out and I slowed to a stop. "This... should be... enough... hahhhh..."

"That's great and all, but what are we doing this for?" Through my watery vision, I saw Saki-chan rolling her eyes, seeming not to have broken a sweat. She handed me her water bottle, which I accepted happily.

"We're trying to shake Yukinon off, of course!" I replied after chugging down half the bottle. "Thanks."

"I'm seeing a fatal jump in your logic here," Saki-chan sighed, taking back her bottle and sighing again when she saw how much I had drunk. "How does shaking her off lead to her coming clean with us?"

"Right, see. By doing this, we get to throw Yukinon off, right?"

"Yeah."

"And then around the fifth time we do it she'll get really annoyed and stuff."

"Yeah, okay. I see now. You're trying to make her realise that joining us is much easier than stalking us from the shadows, right?"

"Huh? Of course not. Let me finish. Yukinon is usually very smart, but she can do stupid things when she loses her temper, see."

"Okay...?"

"So we'll make her so angry that she'll jump out from the wall she's hiding behind and say something like 'Don't screw with me!', and then we'll catch her! How's that sound? Great plan, right?"

"As if!" Saki-chan screeched. "Nothing in real life is as easy as that!"

"The louder she screams, the more we'll get to embarrass her about it later, so we have to make sure she yells as loudly as possible."

"Don't screw with me!"

"Yeah! Just like that."

"I swear, you... urgh, whatever! I give up."

Saki-chan was panting now, though not exactly due to physical activity. I felt proud knowing that I tired her out more than running did.

Footsteps and voices belonging to a handful of people seemed to be getting closer to us. By the sound of it, it was a great handful.

"...within twenty metres covered. Beta Squad 4, go in further. We'll cover you."

"Roger that."

Yep, definitely getting closer. Beside me, Saki-chan stiffened. Then she grabbed my shoulder and pulled me aside.

"Saki-chan? What's all this for?"

"Thugs. They're after me, probably. Come."

My head spun as we briskly walked down the alleyway. "Saki-chan, you... you got into some trouble? Is that it?"

"Worse than that. Well... it may be a bit late to tell you, but I already have a part-time job. I thought I could keep it a secret from you. I'm sorry."

Before I could think of a reply, Saki-chan had rolled aside the covering of a nearby manhole and begun her downward climb. To begin with, how could she be so sure these guys were after us-

"The two targets are nowhere to be found. Proceed further."

"Roger that."

Yep, definitely after us. Gulping, I followed Saki-chan into the sewers. We reached the bottom and walked along the side, neither side saying a word.

So... Saki-chan was a criminal.

Not that I was too surprised. I had already seen Hikki and Yukinon in action, so nothing could be too shocking in comparison. And to be fair, I had kind of seen this coming. It explained quite a few things, like Saki-chan's over-the-top reaction to being followed, or her unusual physical fitness.

I stopped myself from asking stupid questions like 'You work part-time in the underground, Saki-chan?'. She knew. I knew. She knew I knew. What was the point in asking?

Instead I asked: "The hiding place that we're going to... is it safe?"

"Dunno," she replied. She was staring straight ahead, her expression unreadable. "With the underground, you can never be sure."

Something in my heart twinged. It wasn't like I hated Saki-chan now that I knew she was a criminal, but she thought I did and that was pretty much the same thing. She looked like she needed a hug, which I would gladly give if we weren't in the sewers.

The smell, gosh. I felt pride at the fact that the stench of waste bothered me more than my friend's background did.

Somewhere along the passageway, Saki-chan shifted aside a part of the wall and squeezed into the resulting crevice. Wrinkling my nose, I followed and emerged in a spacious room. It was a fairly bare room, with a single table and cupboard under a flickering light bulb.

"I haven't come in here for a while, but looks like someone's been using it recently," Saki-chan said, still avoiding eye contact with me. "We'll stay until the commotion dies down, then we'll go back up and... I guess you can go home."

What was supposed to say in this situation? 'No, I don't wanna go home! Let's continue searching for a job!' was pretty bad. 'I don't actually hate you, Saki-chan!' was inappropriate given the timing. And I'd rather bash my head against the wall than say 'Let me join in too!'.

The last option was only for desperate situations, such as when a pair of students were about to make you forget everything you had seen in the past fifteen minutes and didn't mind if they gave you permanent brain damage in the process.

I took a deep breath. "Saki-chan... tell me more about Chiba's criminal underground."

"...huh? Are you even listening to yourself? This isn't a playground."

I flinched at the curt tone, but pressed on anyway. "You remember what I said, right? That I want to understand as much as I can about the people around me."

"There's a lot you _don't_ understand," she snapped. "And that's a good thing. Don't go learning what you don't need to, you'll get yourself killed."

"I'm already surrounded by people who know things that I'm not supposed to know!" I yelled hotly. I didn't yell very often, and the surprise at me doing so registered on Saki-chan's face. "You're not the only one with problems here, you know! Who cares if our worlds are different? At least you _know_ you live in a different world! Hayato-kun leads the whole of Group S on, but we have no idea what's going on behind the scenes. At least, I don't! Hikki and Yukinon don't tell me a single thing, and I can't possibly know what's going on over _there_ if they don't! So don't you start pulling that crap on me either!"

Saki-chan looked conflicted; her face was white. "I... I'm just not sure if-"

I grabbed both her hands and glared straight into her eyes. 'We're friends, aren't we?"

"I..."

" _Aren't we?_ "

Dead silence. I refused to break my glare.

Finally, she broke eye contact. "Urghhh... fine, fine. What do you want to know?"

I heaved a small sigh of relief; finally, after months of being clueless, somebody was going to fill me in. "Well firstly, what's the criminal world like? Are you part of a gang that's going through a turf war or something?"

'It's not as simple as that," Saki-chan sighed, rubbing the bridge between her eyes. "It used to be like that, though. Yakuza, Italian Mafia, all sorts of gangs just minding their own business. There were a couple of traitors and troublemakers here and there, but they were insignificant on the grand scale. Chiba was one of the safer prefectures because crime was more subdued."

"What happened then?"

Saki-chan stared deep into my eyes, dead serious. "A revolution."

I felt a chill run down my spine.

"It happened a year ago, and it was the start of what we all refer to as The New Age. Essentially, all the traitors and troublemakers that had their fingers in multiple gangs banded together to take over the entire prefecture."

Gangs such as in the Yakuza and Mafia, had a part to play in the economic sector, meaning they owned (mostly) legal businesses to support themselves. And every one of these gangs had members that pulled the strings and called the shots. Powerful criminals, constantly backstabbing and drifting from gang to gang, only aiming to make as much money as possible. If all these influential criminals worked together, they could probably change society as we knew it. A terrifying, unstoppable force.

"It was a really big thing," Saki-chan continued. "Even the government got involved and resorted to using their undercover illegal organisation to deal with these guys. It didn't really work out, though."

"Hold up. Our government controls an illegal organisation?"

Saki-chan sighed. "Yep. Why else do you think Chiba's crime rate was so subdued? All the law enforcement happened in the shadows."

My mind was reeling, but the suspense would kill me if I asked Saki-chan to stop now. "Ah... so this New Age thing..."

"We're still living in it, yes. Basically, the underworld used to be split into two factions; Summer and Winter. The Summer faction comprised all the gangs, and the Winter faction was completely made of Government agents. But after the revolution, two more factions were born."

I clasped my hands together. "Four factions... so you could name them after the four seasons right? That's so convenient!"

"R-right. The group of traitors who started the whole mess were dubbed the Autumn faction, and the Spring faction is... another group that came from the Government."

"Oh. Wouldn't that make them part of the Winter faction then?"

There was a short pause. "No. They operate separately."

"Are you sure y'all didn't make it a separate faction just so you could have four seasons-"

" _Definitely not."_

"Okay, okay... so what does the Spring faction do-"

Saki-chan clamped a hand over my mouth and dragged us both into the cupboard. The cupboard door shut, just in time before two men entered the room through the opening we had created earlier. Through a crack in the cupboard door, we watched the men gather around the table.

"Looks like someone else has been in here," the first man said. "The air feels a little less... musty."

"Probably a bunch of guys who stopped by for a breather," said the other. "We should be safe. And we didn't leave any incriminating evidence behind, did we?"

Beside me, Saki-chan murmured something that sounded like "Wait, I know these guys..."

"None. How are the preparations going?"

"A-ok, Satou-san. The invasion of the Downtown area will begin soon. Here's the list of our targets." The man placed a slip of paper on the table.

My heart skipped a bit. Going by the way Saki-chan's breath hitched, she was surprised too.

"Excellent. This will be the first stage in our plan. We will raid every major establishment in the area, raising the ire of the Summer and Winter factions. When the rest of the Autumn Faction then tries to investigate the root cause, the Big Eight will inevitably expose themselves to attack and we will end them. It is time for the New Age to meet its end, my friend."

The man referred to as Satou's friend groaned. "I know the plan, Satou-san. You've repeated it so many times. But... well... it's not awfully specific, is it? Are you sure about this?"

"Fear not, brother. We have a powerful friend on our side!"

The man referred to as Satou's brother sighed. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. This **{Moral Compass}** guy... we're not sure if he even exists."

"I understand your concern, my comrade. But think about it. Going by the members of the Big Eight who we know, it is clear that none of them have a single lick of conscience, no?"

"Well yes, but-"

"To begin with it is a selfish group. Powerful but selfish. They started this whole 'New Age' nonsense so that they could reap the resulting profit."

"We're in the Autumn faction too, Satou-san. We're not exactly in the position to talk." mumbled the man referred to as Satou's comrade.

"That is why," said Satou, steamrolling on, "There has to be a figure who is holding them back. They would have overturned our entire society by now otherwise; that is just how absurdly powerful they are. This figure who prevents them from acting out the full extent of their evil desires must be one with a strong sense of justice, and we have hence named him **{Moral Compass}**."

"That's an oversimplified explanation! I'm not gonna risk my life for such conjecture!"

"Relax, dear friend. I have confirmed that the man himself exists."

The man who was obviously very important to Satou stiffened. "Wait, seriously?"

"He got in contact with me a few months ago. All the information he has concerning the Big Eight and other Factions checks out nicely. **{Moral Compass}** does exist, and he will lead us to victory."

"Oh, that's a relief then. Anyway it's about to start, so we should get going..."

Still talking, the two men exited the room. A few moments later, Saki-chan and I spilled out of the cupboard, panting heavily.

"That bastard!" Saki-chan growled. "I knew he was up to something, but to think it was something like this..."

The slip of paper that the man had claimed 'contained the names of all their targets' still lay on the table, so I picked it up. "Ah, so you're in the Autumn faction, Saki-chan? The one full of backstabbing traitors?"

"Wh... n... I o-only joined after the revolution, okay!"

"It was only formed after the revolution, Saki-chan," I said, gaining great pleasure in watching Saki-chan's face go bright red. "Also, who are the Big Eight?"

"The eight people who led the revolution," Saki-chan replied. "Only a few of them have their identities revealed, so the fact that there are eight of them is just speculation. Their aliases are probably written on the list you're holding. To think of killing the Big Eight... it's a pipe dream, honestly. I have no idea what Satou is thinking."

I glanced at the list... and my blood ran cold.

 **{Lion Heart, Hayama Hayato}**

 **{Dead Eye, ?}**

 **{Moral Compass, ?}(Ally, don't attack!)**

 **{Sentient Shadow, ?}**

 **{Parallel Vein, Shiromeguri Meguri}**

 **{Sixth Finger, Nanami Nana}**

 **{Tarnished Soul, John Smith}**

 **{Fleeting Mind, ?}(Leader, top priority!)**

 _Hayato-kun... and Shiromeguri-senpai too..._

This made me think of a frog in a well. A well that runs deep into the ground, so that from the bottom the frog can only see a small patch of sky. To the frog, the sky is its entire world. Sometimes it sees the sun and moon pass by above its small space, and gets used to them after a while. But when the frog climbs out of its well and sees the outside world: the sun and the moon and how they travel across the entire sky, it's world is shattered.

My throat felt dry.

"Yeah," mumbled Saki-chan, casting me a sympathetic look. "It's surprising once you know how many criminals there are around you, honestly. Still want to know what's going on?"

"Of course," I croaked. 'Saki-chan... I... I want to fight."

"Huhhh? No, no. There's nothing you can do about it, okay? I'm sure Hayama and the Prez will be able to protect themselves just fine. We'll just get you out of here and you can go back home-"

"You can't stop me, Saki-chan," I said, turning around to face her. No shouting, no whining, just matter-of-fact. "I may not have known it, but I've been involved in this longer than you think. Hayato-kun, Shiromeguri-senpai... I want to help them. You too. Maybe even Hikki too. Hikki is in the Autumn faction too, right?"

'Y-yeah, but how'd you know-"

"Lucky guess. And innocent people may get involved here, so you'll have to fight as well. You can't waste time taking me home!"

"I... guess so..."

"Let's do this together, Saki-chan. I won't get in your way, I promise."

Dead silence. I refused to break my stare.

For the second time that day, she broke it. "Fine, fine. Just don't blame me if you die, okay?"

 _Score!_

"We have to go save Yukinon too!" I chirped as Saki-chan strode out of the room. "She's up there because of us, so it's our responsibility!"

"Yeah, yeah... Just to make it clear, I'm not doing this because you told me to, okay?"

"You know, Saki-chan, you're quite like a tsundere yourself."

"S-shut up!"

My thoughts drifted to Yukinon as we walked down the sewers yet again. Hopefully the thugs from earlier weren't giving her too much trouble...

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 2030 hours]**

"How much trouble do you have to give me before you are satisfied?" I hissed. Before me, a multitude of bowed heads accepted their fate. "You've failed _three times in a row_ tonight. _Three!_ For the Yukinoshita family that's three times too many!"

I was ashamed beyond belief. I had imagined such a grand chase across the heart of Chiba, and here I was, turning tail after the first round.

My thoughts were interrupted when my cell phone rang.

It was my mother. "Yukino, I heard you took two squads out to the Downtown Area. Is this true?"

Even though I had rehearsed this conversation in my head multiple times, the words that came out of my mouth still seemed to trip over each other. "Yes, mother. H-however, it was for a r-relevant cause-"

"That doesn't matter, anyhow. Listen up, now. Your father just got fresh intel that there will be several raids at the major establishments in the Downtown area, courtesy of the Autumn faction. Five more squads will be joining you shortly, so settle this mess before midnight."

A raid? I had certainly not been expecting that. Did that have something to do with Yuigahama-san and Kawasaki-san's disappearance? Or perhaps they were complete outsiders to this incident? I had no idea which scenario I preferred.

"Of course, mother. I suppose you will be coming down to oversee-"

"Did you not hear me correctly, Yukino? Settle it yourself. This social gathering is one among political leaders. Your father and I cannot leave so easily."

In front of me, the members of Alpha and Beta squads were already standing in formation. Subconsciously, I straightened my posture as well. "I-I understand."

"Very good. It needs no explanation that innocent civilians will be harmed if you fail. But more importantly, Yukino."

"Yes, mother?"

"The name of the Yukinoshita family... no. The pride of our entire Government lies in your hands tonight. Do not disappoint us."

"Yes, mother."

Ending the call, I turned to face my father's men. Until midnight, they were my men and I would make the most out of them.

"Listen up. Up until now you all have been nothing but failures!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"But now we have an important operation on our hands. The Autumn faction is about to commit acts of terrorism, and we are going to stop them! Failure is not an option!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"So let us go and show these thugs just what we can do!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

I took a deep breath. Forget the game of hide and seek, this was turning out to be bigger than I ever could have imagined. It felt like I was a powerful piece being moved into the most chaotic section of a chess board, and the very thought was exhilarating.

"By the order of Yukinoshita Yukino, heiress of the Winter faction: Move out!"

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 29th June, 2030 hours]**

Fruitless. Empty. Meaningless.

The search of Yuigahama's room had yielded no results. I had brazenly torn up floorboards, wallpaper... anything that could have something hidden behind. I had shamelessly browsed yearbooks and diaries. I had taken the entire room apart, leaving no stone unturned. Yet, all the things I found pointed to Yuigahama being a perfectly normal schoolgirl.

Normal schoolgirls did not just casually waltz into the highest rung of my stratified system! I refused to accept this.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Kawasaki that read " _Satou planning a coup. Wants 2 kill the 8. Raiding downtown area. Yuigahama wants 2 fight. Send orders."_

I groaned. Those stupid little...

Of _all_ the days they could have chosen to rebel against me, they just had to pick this one. It was just failure after failure... Murphy's law really was in full swing today.

At this point Kawasaki had probably been forced to tell Yuigahama about what was going on. I trusted Kawasaki not to give her any crucial information (read: information about myself), but what on earth was Yuigahama thinking? Wanting to fight? _This is not your battlefield, woman. Go home!_

Though... that was exactly what I had thought when Yuigahama joined the Service Club, and she was doing just fine, wasn't she? That girl had a knack for blending into her surroundings really easily; maybe this skirmish would help me gain more insight about her.

I texted back: " _U fight too. Prioritise her safety"_ and shoved my cell phone into my pocket. I had more important things to do. Like taking apart the ceiling.

I hesitated for a moment, then took my phone back out.

" _Yours too, of course._ "

The reply took five seconds to arrive.

" _Idiot._ "

I smiled. Nothing like texting a tsundere on a bad day. Despite everything that had happened so far, my spirits were lifted now.

 _Alright, let's do this! Time to search my classmate's underwear drawer for potential blackmail material..._

 _...and while I'm at it, revolutionise society._

 **{Fleeting Mind, Hikigaya Hachiman}**

 **Author's note: One chapter became two before I knew it, whoops. The next one will take a while though**


	9. Chapter 9

**[Hikigaya Hachiman, Approximately 1 year ago]**

Every muscle in my body was screaming.

I hadn't felt the signs of overexertion in such a long time; if I recalled correctly, the last time had been my first time cycling to middle school. The body goes past simple exhaustion to pain, adrenaline-induced vigour, numbness and finally death. As it was, I was currently nearing the last stage.

Usually at this point the voice in my head would be keeping me occupied with wisecracks and taunts, but it seemed to have left. Maybe it had taken over my psyche. Or perhaps it was the idea of an alternate persona that I had created to run away from reality and hence had never existed to begin with. Either way, I doubted it would ever come back again.

 _...why did I do something so stupid?_

With barely enough energy left to pant, I had dragged my insolent body all the way back home. My feet felt like they were stuck to the ground. To an extent, they were.

All of those goons had been heavily armed. Their vests, which I had assumed were for decoration, had turned out to be shockproof. And to top it off, they were well versed in all sorts of martial arts. Even in a frenzied state, a fresh middle school graduate who hadn't exercised properly in months would meet his limit...

...No. Forget fighting them, even getting out of the hospital corridor had taken an abnormal amount of effort.

Stumbling the final few steps and clutching onto the doorknob for support, I took a few shallow breaths as a sort of reprieve. The lock had been broken and the door was slightly ajar.

For formality's sake, I knocked.

Silence, as expected.

I knocked again. "Kondo-san? It's me. I've come to repay my debt."

From the inside of the house, muffled shuffling and clicking reached my ears. Finally, a raspy voice hoarsely whispered: "Come in, then. It's unlocked. But you knew that already, didn't you? Heh heh."

Ignoring the lactic acid that had long saturated my flesh, I pushed the door to my home open.

Kondo-san was not a handsome man: that was all I could say with certainty. Most of his facial features were artificial (face swaps were common in this particular line of work) and therefore not worth committing to memory. He wore a flimsy suit made of a material similar to sandpaper, ostensibly for ease of replacement and to minimize the chance of leaving fingerprints. He was also holding a pistol that was aimed straight at me.

Going by Kondo-san's line of work, he had many clients but few of them actually paid him back. Willingly. And no sane person would knock on the door of his own house and ask to come in. He had a right to be suspicious.

He surveyed my appearance within seconds, which wasn't too hard; the lower half of my body was caked in fresh blood.

"Don't worry," I said. "It's not mine."

"I know. That makes it worse, doesn't it?" His eyes swept across my figure again, searching for concealed weapons, and he gave a satisfied grunt when he found none. "What happened? Civilians pissed you off?"

"Armed civilians wearing shades and shockproof suits, yeah."

His gaze seemed to sharpen. "Those guys? They're no joke. But it looks like you're no joke either."

"I'm not too sure about that. I read somewhere that laughing at yourself prolongs your lifespan," I said. Maybe Kondo-san was in the mood for some light banter.

"...I guess so. Laughing at the wrong people tends to shorten your life, after all." A good comeback, but his tone was a cautious one, as if he was giving a witty answer just to placate me.

 _Hmmmm... That's no good, I don't really like heavy stuff._

 _What did I come here for again? Ah, right._

"They're over at the hospital just down the road, so if you sell the organs you should more or less get the sum my family owes you. That's all I came here to say."

A long pause. "Boy. I killed your parents."

"Yes, you did."

"And now you come here dripping with blood, primed with killing intent, and you want to pay back your debt?"

"Yep."

Kondo-san's eyes narrowed. "Your bloodlust is fresh, boy. Fresh and wild. I can sense it from over here, and I think I would sense it from half a mile away. But there is no way you would be able to touch anyone from the Winter faction, let alone kill a few of them."

I shrugged. "It was hard."

He didn't look convinced. "How many?"

"Twenty-something. Lost count along the way."

A thunderous _boom_ split my eardrums and the window to my left exploded, glass shards whizzing past millimeters from my head. Kondo-san calmly reloaded.

"Don't mess with me, boy. You mess with patient people. Parents, teachers, whatever. But I am not a patient person. You think I can't see a trap as obvious as that?"

I smiled. "You think they'll be waiting to jump you when you get there? I'm pretty sure I killed the whole squad, though."

The window to my right exploded in similar fashion. A piece of glass sliced my cheek.

"It will be your head next," Kondo-san snarled, his voice crackling like static. His eyes were bloodshot, and the hands that reloaded his pistol were sluggish in their movement. "You're telling me that you killed _an entire squad_ of Winter faction members, _all by yourself_ , and got out of it _completely unscathed_?"

"Like I said, it was hard," I repeated patiently. "Getting out was hard too, y'know. There was just so much blood to wade through, not to mention all the sticky and stringy body bits... Horrible, honestly. Do you guys do this kind of thing all the time?"

A splintering sound erupted from the door behind me and a line of white hot pain registered on my cheek a second later. Kondo-san must have aimed for my head. Given the way his hands were shaking it was no wonder he missed.

He was acting a bit weirdly though. Even if he didn't believe me, was there really a need to be so violent about it?

Then, it hit me.

Kondo-san was used to killing and killing intent, sure. But only for the sake of money. He was an economical person: someone who had been driven to such a murderous state by pure emotion had to be new to him. An unstable element that could blow up in his face any moment.

An unstable element who was claiming to have killed twenty-odd members of the legendary Winter faction, whoever they were.

Kondo-san was afraid of me.

Shakily, Kondo-san reloaded. Despite my greatly weakened state, I felt the sudden urge to rush him and slam his skull into the wall. But I was a civilised person, at least for now.

Cold sweat was forming on Kondo-san's brow. "You... you hate me, right?"

"Of course," I replied, my voice even. "I've been waiting for this moment."

He sneered, but the hand that gripped the pistol trembled ever-so-slightly. "I see. So it _was_ for revenge, after all. Strangely enough, it's a little relieving to hear you finally come out and say it."

"It's not about the _revenge_ ," I muttered. "It's about... sending a message."

"...Superm*n?"

"The D*rk Kn*ght, dumbass."

Not exactly your typical showdown sequence, but that's how it went.

Kondo-san took a deep breath and shifted his weight into a more comfortable position. His grip on his gun remained the same. "So, how are we doing this? I don't care how fast you are: you're not gonna take me by surprise in this state. And this old man may not be at the top of his game right now, but I'm pretty sure I'll get you if it's point blank."

"You won't hit me from over there, though. You have an eighty percent chance of missing."

"A stalemate, then?"

I let out a short bark of laughter, even though my lungs protested. "You're misunderstanding something. I'm not here to kill you, Kondo-san."

Kondo-san said nothing. His face was ashen but his expression was firm.

"But you're right, I was lying. I'll leave the job of killing you to the Winter faction."

Kondo-san's face transitioned from white to purple. "You-"

"-couldn't win against them, of course. So instead, I made a deal. Your head for one more hour of life."

Shivering as though in the middle of a blizzard, Kondo-san set his pistol down. I knew better than to charge at him there, though; his guard was still up. "You crazy bastard..."

"They'll be coming any minute now. But hey, I was gonna die anyway. Might as well bring you down with me."

"You... heh. Aha. Ho ho. Ahahaha!"

Kondo-san was laughing. He was laughing boldly in the face of certain death, with cold sweat on his brow and the blood drained from his face. Compared to the look of horror and despair that I had expected, this was so much more...

Beautiful.

"Good one, kid. You got me, you really did. I used to be quite a fox back in my day, but all the precautions I took... looks like they weren't enough in the end."

He looked at me like he was staring at a grim reaper. And he grinned.

"Well. Occupational hazard, I guess! I've lived a rotten life with no regrets. But I won't let you have the satisfaction of seeing me beg for my life-"

"Kondo-san. There is a way to prevent this, so let's talk business."

He had been prepared to die a dog's death just a moment ago, so my proposal threw him off; possibly even more than my threat had. "...Say what?"

"You have superiors, right? I'm sure they have enough power to get us both out of-"

I was cut short by a reedy peal of laughter. "For little ol' me? Give it up and die with the satisfaction of having avenged your parents. That being said..."

He lifted the pistol again, and this time his hand was steady. This was a man with nothing left to lose. "I don't really buy the bit where you said they'll be killing you afterwards. For all I know, you could have bartered your life for mine! So yeah, you're gonna have to die a little earlier than expected, eh? No hard feelings, kid."

"The names of the ones who are alive. I know them."

His finger paused. "Say what, now?"

"It's valuable information, right? The one I attacked first seemed like a big-shot. And they dropped the name of one of their top secret head honchos. Surely your superiors would want that?"

Kondo-san's gaze sharpened. But even as he kept up that farce, we both knew there were a lot of things he didn't understand. "Y'know, kid. If this is one big plan to round up my entire line of business, you're biting off way more than you can chew. We've come this far without getting caught for a reason. Anything you do won't change that."

"Whether you believe me is up to you," I replied. "But if you want to accept my offer, you'll have to do it quick."

It didn't take too much contemplation: this was a man with nothing to lose, after all. "Alright, gimme a second."

As Kondo-san turned around to contact his superior, I felt my legs giving out and I slumped forward. I felt so weak... the adrenaline was finally beginning to wear off.

Kondo-san grinned as he turned back around, walking forward to hand me his cellphone. "Finally out of steam, eh? Here you go."

"Thanks."

I took a deep breath. With great difficulty, my left hand latched on and gripped tightly.

"Hello?"

The speaker on the other end was using a voice distorter, but I could tell it was a man, and that he was amused. "Oh, it's just a kid. So, can I trust you?"

"From one scumbag to another, yes."

My mysterious contact roared with laughter. "Good, good. I like that spunk. You can call me John Smith, kid. It's not my real name, so use it all you want. I've heard my boy's side of the deal, but I haven't heard yours. Got anything you want?"

"I want to join the Criminal underworld."

The dull buzz of static betrayed John Smith's silence.

"You... sure about this, kid? I'm sure there are many nice orphanages that-"

"I want to make my mark on society, sir. And there is no better place for that than where you are."

"No, there is no worse place. You don't seem to understand. We're not evil dictators or brilliant criminal masterminds. We're just living our lives the way we know how, and that happens to be at the expense of others. This is not the place for you, kid."

"Then I suppose you don't want the information?"

More static.

"...I was warning you out of goodwill."

"Much appreciated. But I've made up my mind."

"Well, then." Over the phone line and through the voice distorter, John Smith's reluctant voice sounded like a rumble of thunder. "Welcome to the Autumn faction, then.

"What's up with the four seasons, by the way? Some Yakuza code?"

John Smith coughed. "Weeeell... two seasons, actually. The Autumn faction isn't an actual faction, see. We're just a bunch of backstabbers who don't belong in either."

"Oh. I thought debt collectors usually come from the Yakuza..."

"Hell _no_ , kid. Your parents were involved in some pretty nasty stuff. Ah... also, about that guy."

"That guy?"

"What do people call him these days... Ah, yes! Kondo! Kondo-san. Is he still... uh... alive?"

I gazed at my left hand which was fastened around Kondo-san's throat. His face was already blue from asphyxiation, so I dropped his corpse onto the carpet.

"No, I don't think so."

"Ahhhh... pity. Welp. Occupational hazard, I guess! These things happen. And I suppose that means you've got the right attitude for the job. You'll be taking his place, then."

"Thank you very much. About my debt..."

"Ah, yes. We'll have to collect the bodies before they do. How many did you leave?"

"Fourteen. Some of the organs are kind of... unfit for sale, but I did the math and the remaining ones should cover-"

"Organs? Oh, no. Just the fingerprints alone will cost a bomb. You've raked in a gold mine for us, really. Consider your debt overpaid."

"Thank you very much."

From the other end of the phone line I heard a rush of air. Was John Smith taking a deep breath or was he sighing? "I won't ask how you managed to kill so many members of the Winter faction, but... I do have a question. What are you doing all this for? Angry at us for killing your parents?"

Yes, I was angry. At my parents, at myself, at society, at everything. But anger was part of my humanity: the very thing that caused people to kill, manipulate and ruin. And the thought of conforming to this essence, this _construct_ , pissed me off much more than everything that had happened to me thus far.

How could I be angry at humans for doing what humans did best? I had simply gotten a glimpse of it. All I wanted, from the bottom of my heart, was to show them what I had seen. Show every single human being that I had ever met -and would meet in time to come- just how _rotten_ they were.

I did not need petty emotions like anger to kill, manipulate and ruin.

I would become a monster of my own volition.

"It's not about the _revenge_ ," I muttered. "It's about... sending a message."

"Ooh, is that an adapted line from The D*rk Kn*ght Ris*s? That movie was the best!"

"Damn straight."

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2030 hours]**

"Saki-chan, Saki-chan."

"Yes?"

"I know I said a lot of stuff about wanting to fight and taking responsibility, but I think I can't do it after all."

"...It's a little too late to say that, don't you think?"

Satou and his friend had entered a warehouse on the outskirts of the Downtown area that looked like it hadn't been used in years. Naturally, we had followed them and were peering in through a crack in a rotting wood wall.

There was a sizeable number of people lazing around inside the warehouse. A bunch of vans were parked outside.

"It's never too late to quit, Saki-chan."

"We're at their HQ already! Get a grip!"

 _Must be tough being a criminal; you can't even choose a decently clean place to be your HQ_.

After my rush of emotions had rolled off, I had realised how out of my element I was trying to be. This was a large-scale kind of war, involving gangs and firefights, backstabbers and warriors...

...And me. Mama would _flip_ if she found out.

In any case, I would have to properly think of what exactly to do if I was going to make this chance count. I wanted to stop this whole mess, of course, but that was a huge goal that Saki-chan and I would not be able to achieve alone. Then there was the issue of Yukinon: just where was she, and was she safe?

Satou clapped his hands and the entire warehouse fell silent. The scene reminded me of a teacher dealing with a classroom of noisy students.

"Alright, brethren. This is our big day, the day we topple the forces of oppression that have stripped us of our power! In a world of shadows and betrayal, the ones who are crafty come out on top, and we are the ones who have been cast away. But does that mean we should simply allow ourselves to be trampled underfoot?"

A roar arose from among Satou's brethren.

"Surely I tell you, no! We will end the foxes who have kept us at bay in one fell swoop this very night, starting with the pride and joy of the Autumn faction... the Big Eight!"

A cheer arose from among Satou's brethren.

"Tonight, we will strike at every major establishment in the Downtown area, rousing the Underworld to take action. Without a doubt, this will serve to lure the Big Eight out of their holes: and that is when we will end their reign once and for all!"

Silence arose from among Satou's brethren. Then one man slowly rose his hand.

"Satou-san! Don't you think that plan is a bit unreliable? Half of those guys have concealed their identities from even their comrades in the Autumn faction, and the other half are confident enough to risk assassination! They won't show their faces as easily as that, right?"

"Wrong, my brother!" declared Satou, as if he was leading a crusade. "For we have a powerful ally. Behold, our key to victory, **{Moral Compass}**!"

He stepped aside to reveal a chair. On the chair was... a laptop with a cracked screen. To me the laptop looked just as old as the warehouse, if that was even possible.

Ignoring the unimpressed looks of his audience, Satou pressed on. " **{Moral Compass}** only contacts us through this laptop, but my trusted companions have verified that the man does indeed exist!"

Satou's brethren looked like they were beginning to regret the decision of showing up.

"That sounds... shady as hell, Satou-san. You contact him with that... thing?"

"No," came the reply. "He only contacts me when he desires."

A collective groan arose from among Satou's brethren. Within seconds, that groan had transitioned into unhappy murmuring.

Beside me, Saki-chan scoffed. "Airheads. I can't believe they've been following him so blindly all this time."

I peered through the crack again: at the discontented crowd and Satou who was staying silent. "Is it that strange?"

"Huh? Of course it is. This is the Autumn faction, for goodness' sake. These are guys smart enough to pull strings in the criminal world, but here they are, getting pulled along by some idiot who can't get his act together! I feel embarrassed just looking at them."

"Well... Satou does have something they don't." I let out a hum, leading Saki-chan to shoot me a strange look.

"He's the dumbest of them all, actually. When the New Age arrived he was one of the first to be thrown aside."

"Yeah? But he knows what he wants."

"Huh?"

"Being smart and knowing how to lead people on isn't everything, see. Those guys in there should have been happy enough leading normal lives, so why did they become criminals and go so far to betray their friends in the world of crime? I betcha they betrayed their gangs and whatnot because they had no idea what they wanted."

"Uh... money? Influence?"

"Yeah, but what comes after that? What did they need the extra money and influence for?"

Saki-chan looked like she was thinking hard; this was the first time she ever had this train of thought. "To... feel good about themselves... I guess? I dunno, honestly."

"Neither did they, probably. It's just like how normal people work their whole lives to earn money without knowing what for, but on a bigger scale."

Saki-chan stroked her chin thoughtfully. "So you're saying they followed Satou because they thought he would lead them somewhere?" _Saki-chan, you're so smart! Marry me!_

"It makes sense, right? I mean, he looks like he has a dream. It's a pretty big one, too."

We stared at the chaotic scene happening inside the warehouse. Satou didn't seem to be making any move to calm his brethren down, but was instead staring expectantly at the laptop. He placed absolute hope in this **{Moral Compass}** person; this level of trust was rare, even in civilian society. If not for whatever brought him to a life of crime, he would have lived a happy life surrounded by loved ones... I felt my heart go out to him.

Beside me, Saki-chan bit her lip. "You're pretty amazing, Yuigahama. To be able to figure all that out in one glance..."

"I like you too, Saki-chan. Go out with me!"

"...if only you didn't say stuff like that."

 _Beeeeep_

The entire warehouse fell silent in an instant: the laptop had lit up. On the white cracked screen was a single line of text.

 _[Sorry for the wait, internet connection was bad. Y'all ready?]_

Thick silence. Then the crowd exploded.

"Don't screw with us!"

"Bad internet connection? You're one of the Big Eight and you let yourself get held up by _bad internet connection_?"

"Satou-san, what the hell is this!"

Satou raised his hands in a calming manner. "Now, now. It's not easy to manipulate servers and send messages undetected. All of you know that, right? So let's just focus on our big goal for now and wait for **{Moral Compass}** -san's instructions."

The crowd's protests died down. They waited expectantly, until the laptop let out another _beep_ around half a minute later.

 _[The bad internet connection was on YOUR end, by the way.]_

They exploded again.

"Who cares about that? Give us our orders, our orders!"

"Well, _sorry_ for having such a run-down base!"

"Satou-san, what the hell is this? Hurry him up!"

"Calm down!" Satou commanded, though he was starting to get impatient too. "I can't send anything to him even if I want to, so relax and wait! We'll be getting instructions soon!"

 _Beep_

 _[Wait, this is the right number, right? Cos it would be pretty bad if it wasn't. Lol.]_

Satou's brethren stayed silent. Most likely, they were too dumbfounded to get angry. On the laptop screen, words continued to flow.

 _Beep_

 _[Just kidding, just kidding. Anyway._ _ **{Lion's Heart}**_ _and his squad will be tapping into the power grid as part of a covert operation.]_

 _Beep_

 _[_ _ **{Dead Eye}**_ _is in the area though I don't know what for; there's some party going on at the government office building, so probably another assassination.]_

 _Beep_

 _[_ _ **{Parallel Vein}**_ _will be taking the subway home and should pass by the Hon-Chiba station at around 2130.]_

 _Beep_

 _[_ _ **{Sixth Finger}**_ _will be doing her weekly patrol in the area. Deal with them as you see fit.]_

 _Beep_

 _[I will handle_ _ **{Sentient Shadow}**_ _and_ _ **{Tarnished Soul}**_ _personally, and I was unable to get a hold of_ _ **{Fleeting Mind}**_ _. Any questions?]_

This was game-changing information. Stuff that could change the shape of society. And this **{Moral Compass}** guy was throwing them around, line by line, hindered only by the size of the laptop screen. Did he even understand how many lives could be changed with this? What kind of person was he, to bear such a great burden?

...How could he do it so easily?

Beside me, Saki-chan inhaled sharply. "This guy... he's the real deal. There's no way anyone outside the Big Eight would be so accurate."

"He isn't just spouting nonsense, then?"

She breathed out, slowly but shakily. "I think so. At least, I know the bits about Hayama and the Prez are correct."

 _Beep_

 _[Not that I would know if you had any questions, lol.]_

 _Beep_

 _[Of course, you'll still have to carry out your raids on all the major establishments in the Downtown area as planned._ _ **{Sentient Shadow}**_ _is a crafty one, so we need a big enough incident for him to show his face.]_

I turned to face Saki-chan. "I'm a bit confused here."

" **{Sentient Shadow}** is the guy in charge of our entire intelligence network," Saki-chan replied, cutely biting her thumbnail. "If such a large incident happens out of nowhere, he'll have to look all over the deep web to find its source, so the traces he leaves will be more obvious."

"So... this **{Moral Compass}** guy thinks he can win in a game of hide-and-seek over the internet with the guy in charge of your intelligence network?"

"It's possible, actually. I don't know much about this guy, but I've heard he's pretty damn good at pretty much anything-"

Clamping her hand over my mouth for the second time that day, Saki-chan brought both of us to a crouch, allowing the inky darkness to cover us. It took me half a second to see why: About five black jeeps, barely visible in the dim lighting, had driven up beside the entrance of the warehouse.

Inside said warehouse, Satou clapped his hands. "Alright, comrades. We'll proceed as planned. Grab your arms and move to the transport units outside-"

The fragile wooden warehouse door exploded. An instant later, armed men in black suits and shades rushed in and opened fire on the crowd.

The way they went about doing it was really orderly. There were fifteen of them, but only five did the shooting at one time while another five waited behind them and the last five watched their backs. When the ones doing the shooting were out of ammunition, the five behind them would take over.

A mechanical, almost nightmarish kind of orderliness.

The Winter faction had arrived, and they were just slaughtering all these people without any form of hesitation.

Screams. Chaos. Blood. It was an unbelievable scene.

Saki-chan grabbed my shoulder. "Come on. It's just one squad, but we have to leave too before they find us."

Slowly, I turned towards her. To my shock and hers, warm tears were spilling out of the corners of my eyes. "Saki-chan, you... see this sort of... thing... _all the time_?"

The urgency in her eyes died out, and all that was left in there was sympathy. "Welcome to the underworld, Yuigahama. I used to be like you once, so I can't say I don't understand. But we need to move, alright? Come on."

Nodding and drying my tears, I picked my nearly-frozen body up and stumbled after her. "B-but, what about Satou and his friends? Is that it? They won't be carrying out the raids anymore?"

"You wish." Saki-chan's eyes were set in steel and her jaw was firm. "Don't underestimate the Autumn faction. We have our own way of doing things."

As Saki-chan and I weaved through the rows of warehouses and office buildings, away from the area of conflict, I heard a loud _crack_ and the sounds of gunfire stopped suddenly.

"Retreat!"

As the men from the Winter faction beat their sudden, unexpected retreat, another _crack_ reached my ears and about three of them fell over as they piled out of the warehouse.

I stopped running to stare at the incredible sight. "Wait, what just happened?"

"The shooters got sniped, obviously," Saki-chan snapped. "Move it, will you?"

"What, all at once?"

"Of course, dummy. Gives them less time to react."

"But doesn't this kind of thing take time to... to coordinate and all that? Wouldn't just firing at will be faster?"

Saki-chan sighed and stared at me blankly. "And what good would that do?"

"I mean, their friends were getting killed left and right! Wouldn't the snipers want to... I dunno... start firing immediately or something, if they were ready from the start?"

Saki-chan stared at me as if I had just said something really stupid. "...We have different priorities from normal people, Yuigahama. Getting rid of enemies takes precedence over saving our own, alright? Now move it, before they find us on their way out!"

Saki-chan and I made our way towards safety with not a word between us. I tended to stay silent when I was thinking, and I had a lot to think about.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 2100 hours]**

"Squad 1 reporting, Ojou-sama. Eight of our members are now unfit for combat, but the raid was successful. We managed to tamper with all their transport units."

I hummed as I watched the orange blip that indicated squad 1's position move across the digital map. "Good. Rendezvous with squad 2 and proceed to the hospital."

Spread across my laptop screen, several blips were stationed at all of the major establishments of Chiba's downtown area. We were ready for war.

...or so I would say if our opponents were normal terrorists. This amount of preparation was not nearly enough.

Our first move had been to disable their transport units to limit their options and gain a vast advantage in terms of movement speed. The most obvious reason for this was to enable us to react to anything they pulled off, but there was another reason: To herd them into a trap.

Their vehicles were disabled. Most of their members had scattered from their headquarters in the confusion of the raid, and to launch a coordinated attack they would have to travel in their allocated groups. In that case, only one plausible option was left: Public transport.

The high-pitched sound of strained rubber invaded my ears and interrupted my train of thought. My family's personal limousine had screeched to a halt in the empty parking lot designated to be my base of operations. The heavily-enforced car door swung open to reveal the Yukinoshita family's one and only butler.

I nodded as he approached. "Yashiro-san."

"Yukino-sama. It is refreshing to see you in such good spirits."

"Did mother send you here?"

Yashiro-san executed a perfect ninety-degree bow. "Only to ensure that no harm comes to you. Where the handling of this operation is concerned, I have been strictly instructed to take a back seat."

Yashiro-san was a senior member of the Winter faction and a highly regarded pseudo-member of the Yukinoshita family. He was cherished to the point that my parents resolved to keep his identity a secret from the general public for his safety. This had caused the Winter faction no small amount of trouble and had even gotten civilians involved at some point, but when asked my family would unflinchingly declare that it was all worth it. Naturally, I was no exception.

My transceiver crackled.

"Squads four through six reporting from the subway station, Ojou-sama. Our facial-recognition AI programme has detected seven targets among the crowd."

"That should be enough," I replied. "Seal the entrance the station and open fire."

"Ah... I seek your understanding, but the probability of success isn't high. They're experienced at hiding in crowds, after all."

"You misunderstood me," I said. "Open fire on every personnel in the station, be they criminal or civilian."

"Ah. At your command."

Another crackle signalled the end of our conversation, and I took solace in the fact that I could not hear the gunshots and screams of the general public.

Behind me, Yashiro-san hummed thoughtfully. "You conducted a massacre on an entire station's worth of civilians just to secure seven enemies, Yukino-sama?"

I turned back to face him; he had a strange gleam in his eye. With Yashiro-san, you could never quite tell what he was thinking. "The information that those seven can present us with will be invaluable to the operation. In fact, they could be the key to preventing civilian casualty."

Yashiro-san's silver hair shone under the light of the nearby street lamps. "Of course, Yukino-sama. In this humble servant's opinion, you have made the right choice. Of course, there will be some sort of backlash."

"All I have done is inconvenience the general public, Yashiro-san."

"Killing off a few hundred innocents does not classify as 'inconvenience', Yukino-sama."

"I didn't _kill_ them," I hissed. "The three squads are using tranquilizer darts as ammunition."

"I imagine deciding on the dosage must have been challenging," Yashiro-san continued, unfazed. "Too little and it wouldn't work on these trained terrorists; too much and the civilians involved could die from overdose. Am I correct to infer that you eventually decided to place your bets on 'Too much', Yukino-sama?"

"Well. Yes, but that was the best-"

"Of course, that was the right choice. But you gave that order fully prepared to have several civilians die by your hands."

Few people could rile me up so much, and coincidentally all of them were from the Yukinoshita family. Gritting my teeth, I whirled around to glare at the man who had been my mentor and caretaker since my birth. "What are you saying?"

Adorning his expression were not the taunting eyes of a challenger or the disappointed eyes of a mentor; his eyes were two grey chips of stone. "You should have put the protests of your conscience aside and accepted the full reality of what you were doing. If you are prepared to commit an unforgivable sin, you should go all the way. You gave the order for your men to open fire, fully prepared to kill. What this lowly servant is saying, Yukino-sama, is that their rifles should have been loaded with real bullets."

"That would have been _completely unnecessary_!" I shouted. The few guards that I had kept around me averted their gazes, abashed. "What I wanted was to take them alive-"

"Those thugs won't die from a few bullets to the abdomen; you know this, Yukino-sama," Yashiro-san smoothly rebutted. "If it could have decreased the chance of them escaping, you should have done it."

"We're talking about innocent _lives_ here! And you're the one who mentioned backlash-"

"Nothing we cannot handle. We have the government backing us, after all. And like you said, the loss of these few innocent lives could lead to the salvation of many more, correct?"

"All I want to do," I snarled, "is to obtain maximum gain with minimal loss!"

"A commendable policy, Yukino-sama. But your definitions of 'gain' and 'loss' require revision."

There was a forced lull in our conversation. I was set in my ways and so was he. Frankly speaking, there was nothing left to say.

Yashiro-san dipped his head.

"...Haruno-sama would not have hesitated."

I flicked my head back to face my laptop screen. "I know. But Nee-san is not the one heading this operation."

I sensed Yashiro-san bow again behind my back, either out of respect or resignation. With Yashiro-san, you could never quite tell.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 29th June, 2110 hours]**

 _..._

 _..._

 _...What's the point of keeping a diary when you're going to write the exact same thing every day?_

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2115 hours]**

At Saki-chan's suggestion, both of us had gone around the area to shake off anyone who could be following us. I wasn't too comfortable about wasting time, but Saki-chan was right; there was no way the raids would start that quickly. After walking around in circles for what seemed like ages, we had finally reached the nearest subway station, with no idea of what awaited us inside.

Stepping through the gantry, I walked towards Saki-chan, who was standing stock still in front of the escalator that led to the platform below. "What's up... oh."

The platform floor was littered with bodies. There was no trace of blood, so I supposed they were knocked out rather than dead. By the way their bodies were arranged, the people appeared to have been running for the station entrance. Going by how the trail of bodies stopped at the escalator, they must have been blocked on their way up and struck down very quickly.

This was the work of experts.

Saki-chan was already running down the escalator to inspect the unconscious people. I followed her.

"Saki-chan! This was done by Satou and his friends, right? That means the raids have already started!"

"Are you kidding me?" Saki-chan retorted. "If it was them they wouldn't have used these!"

Without hesitation, Saki-chan pulled out a dart-like projectile that had been stuck to the neck of a nearby salaryman.

"Ah... is that a peacefulizer?"

" _Tranquilizer_."

Blankly, I scanned the pool of sleeping people. "Right... Satou's guys would have used real bullets. Who did this, then... Eh?"

 _Is that... a Sobu High uniform?_

Ignoring Saki-chan's (adorable) squeak of surprise, I rushed towards the centre of the sea of bodies to an unconscious student, squatted down and held him up by the shoulders. It didn't look like anyone I knew: straight black hair framing a perfectly ordinary-looking face. If we were in an anime this guy's face would be given to an extra.

A soft moan escaped the boy's slightly parted lips.

"Saki-chan, this one's alive!"

"None of them are dead, dummy," Saki-chan sighed, squatting down beside me and briefly inspecting the boy's body. "None of the darts hit him, but there's a scratch on his neck, so he probably got grazed by one. Honestly, how drugged are those things? The hearts of all the people I've checked so far are barely beating."

Eyes still shut, the boy squirmed. His mouth opened with difficulty, bringing forth a few barely-audible words: "Enough to bring down a cow, I'd reckon."

"Saki-chan, he's awake! It must have been the power of true love's kiss!"

"Whose?!"

The boy seemed to frown in irritation before groggily opening his eyes. His eyes were two pools of soulless black. Just looking at his face, I felt like I was staring into an abyss.

The abyss stared back at me.

 _Those eyes..._ "Wait, I know you."

He squinted. "You've got the wrong guy."

Memories flowed into my head. Memories from just a few weeks prior, about chain mails and creepy cults and Hayato-kun almost being killed.

"Ahhhhh! You're that guy who tried to kill me!"

Saki-chan jolted. "What?"

The boy cast his gaze to the side. "Damn. The eyes gave me away again, didn't they."

"Um... what was your name again... Lance!"

"That's from Shogi," he sighed. "Nice to see you as airheaded as ever, Yuigahama Yui-san."

"H-hold on," Saki-chan stammered. "You're from that weird group, aren't you. The one that caused a ruckus in the gym just a while back."

"I would say it was more than a ruckus," he grunted, easing himself into a sitting position. "The name's Bishop. Nice to meet you."

Ever since Hayato-kun's attempted assassination attempt a few weeks back, the school management had taken in the Group C students involved for heavy questioning. However, the students had not provided any useful or solid information. Those who could have done so, such as the boy sleepily rubbing his eyes in front of me, had disappeared right after the assassination failed.

If that was the case, what on earth was he doing here? No, before that...

"Silver General! Do you know who did this to you and attacked all the people in the station?"

"I don't know what's up with your Shogi obsession, but my name is Bishop. And all the people in the station were already down when I arrived, courtesy of some guys from the Winter faction. I got here in the 2108 train, but they had not cleaned up everything by that time, so they shot everyone in the train just to be sure."

 _Ah, so he knows about the factions! Does that mean he came from the criminal underworld?_

 _That's... not very surprising, actually._

Saki-chan's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying you came over to the Downtown area during such a crucial time after disappearing from society for a few weeks? What's your endgame?"

"According to Ou-sama, this rebellion has been in the works for quite a while. Anyhow, this is the time when the Autumn faction's defenses are the lowest, right? I'm just taking the opportunity to fetch my comrade."

My memories were still catching up, but vague images of a chestnut-haired, baseball bat-wielding beast rushed through my mind. "You mean Rook, right? Do you know where he is?"

"Our information isn't so certain on this one," Bishop sighed. "But when you consider the possibilities, the Autumn faction's underground hospital seems to be the most likely."

"Underground hospital?"

"A hospital hidden from the public. Right underneath Chiba Bank."

"That's so cool!"

Bishop gave me a weirded-out look. "Perhaps. I am clutching at straws here, but you wouldn't happen to be able to confirm this assumption, would you?"

"I can," said Saki-chan. "I was the one who put him there."

Bishop's soulless eyes darted sideways and he stared at her testily. "Pretty high up the ranks, are you?"

"Maybe. But I'm not just gonna let you waltz in there and do whatever you want-"

I stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hang on, Saki-chan. If Bishop was willing to tell us this much, it means he thinks we can work together, right?"

"That explanation is a tad too simplified, but yes," grunted Bishop. "I assume both of you are on the side trying to stop the rebellion. In that case, our objectives align."

Saki-chan did not look convinced. "In what way, exactly?"

"I wish to retrieve one person from the hospital, and both of you wish to ensure the safety of all those in the hospital. If we break in together, accomplishing both tasks will be significantly easier-"

"Hold up," Saki-chan commanded. "What's this about the safety of all those in the hospital?"

Bishop looked mildly surprised; come to think of it, that was the largest display of emotion I had ever seen from him. "You didn't know? Satou-san is aware that the Autumn faction only assigns important personnel to the hospital. Killing all the patients within is the main part of his scheme to lure out the Big Eight. If my intel isn't wrong, he should be leading that particular raid himself..."

It all made sense now. That was why Satou was so confident that he could lure the Big Eight out of hiding; if these patients needed to be treated at a top-secret hospital strictly for Autumn faction use, there was a high chance that at least some of them were important to members of the Big Eight.

 _Even so... that kind of method is just... horrible._

Beside me, Saki-chan's face was white.

"Come," Bishop urged, somehow without a single sliver of urgency in his voice. "We'll make it there in five minutes if we run."

Wordlessly, we sprinted back up the escalator.

As we darted out of the station, Bishop turned to me with an expression resembling smugness on his face. "That being said, Yuigahama-san, I wouldn't have expected you to be part of the Autumn faction. Would this happen to be the reason why you were accepted into Group S?"

"She's actually a civilian," Saki-chan replied. "She's just tagging along."

"...what."

"Not everything is always as it seems, Gold General!"

"Okay, I _swear_ you're doing it on purpose."

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 2120 hours]**

Even as an adolescent, I had never once quarrelled with my parents. This had nothing to do with good behaviour and instead hinted toward negligent parenting, not that I had minded. Instead, my upbringing had been largely facilitated by my various subordinates of my father, legal or otherwise; naturally, Yashiro-san had been one of them.

 _This heavy atmosphere... so this is what quarreling with one's parental figure feels like._

I stared at the laptop screen and hammered the keyboard with my fingers almost desperately, clutching onto any excuse that could stop me from looking back at Yashiro-san's unmoving form. Undoubtedly, he was standing at attention quietly, waiting for me to break the silence.

My hammering persisted, yet the silence between us seemed to grow.

"Yukino-sama. The raids should be starting soon. Are all your preparations complete?"

What was he playing at this time? Of course my preparations were ready, he'd seen me making them all this while! Perhaps this was Yashiro-san's roundabout way of getting me to elaborate on them.

"Yes," I replied, keeping my tone even. "There are eighteen establishments that are assumed to be targeted, so I split the six squads into teams of five men each, one for each location."

"Ah. You have left one squad unoccupied, then?"

"As buffer, yes."

There was a short pause. Yashiro-san seemed to be composing himself.

"Right. Ah... Yukino-sama."

"Yes?"

Even an amateur would be able to tell he was choosing his words carefully. "Do you... require any assistance? I am not allowed to handle the operation, but your mother never said anything about assisting."

For a moment, I let my guard down. _What do you know, he wanted to help after all. Even all this time when he was trying my patience-_

 _Wait, no. This goes against my mother's orders. He's testing me!_

"Do you doubt my capability, Yashiro-san?"

A hint of panic flared up in his frigid eyes. "Not at all, Yukino-sama. But this is the first mission of such a large scale that you have been entrusted with, and-"

If he thought he was going to trap me so easily, he was mistaken. "Not at all, Yashiro-san. The preparation I have made is sufficient, and I have memorized the layout of all eighteen locations. Rest assured I will be able to manage all the teams at once. Mother gave you that order because she wanted me to handle this independently, did she not? You should not disobey her wishes."

"Yes, but I..."

"But you what, Yashiro-san?"

 _You want to help? Is that what you wanted to say? Using this kind of childish emotional appeal, all so that I can slip up and you can report to Mother. When will you ever be satisfied?_

I was tired of being treated like a child.

In an attempt to vent my inner frustration, I glared at him. Our gazes met for a fraction of a second, and he dipped his head immediately after. A few seconds of awkward silence followed.

It seemed that I would never really win against Yashiro-san; I could not even vent my frustrations properly in front of him. Slowly, I turned back to my laptop, and my mother's teachings flowed through my head without warning.

 _Never trust anyone more than yourself. Always use what is available to you: Opportunities, relationships, resources, unless explicitly instructed otherwise. Human life is a resource; its value differs with each person and is ultimately decided by our superiors._

 _Most importantly, Yukino. We are agents of the government. The hidden arm of society. Be it ideals, identity or ability, it does not belong to us as individuals, but to the state. Do not allow emotions to cloud your work._

 _Especially not your... absurd sense of justice. Use it only when it aligns with your objective. There is a right place and a right time for everything. Am I understood?_

I clenched my fist.

 _Am I understood, Yukino?_

Somewhere along the line my molars had started grinding against each other. I ground them harder.

 _Yukino._

 _...Yes, Mother._

Behind me, I sensed Yashiro-san bow again. "You... have really grown up, Yukino-sama."

His voice was glazed with a tinge of regret.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 29th June, 2125 hours]**

 _Oooh, bear-themed panties. Even highschool girls have these, huh._

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2130 hours]**

A bird that happened to be passing by would have seen three blurs speed along the streets of Chiba's Downtown area. It would also have seen the pink blur slow down to take a break.

Bishop stared at my hunched, panting form with distaste.

Saki-chan, on the other hand, was used to it. "Want me to carry you?"

My head shot up immediately. "Yes please!"

An adorable cunning smile graced Saki-chan's face. "You look lively enough, though. Let's continue."

 _Curse you and your charms!_

Fighting had already begun to break out in the nearby Prefectural Government Offices, as could be seen by the huge crowds of workers that had been evacuated out of said establishment and were milling around the roads in a confused haze. Squeezing through the sea of people, we entered the bank.

Chiba Bank seemed to be in the process of being evacuated; the Winter faction had probably gotten in touch with the government before the fighting started. However, it seemed that the Winter Faction agents themselves had not arrived yet.

The three of us strode across the empty marble hallways and approached an elevator. Upon entering, Saki-chan produced a card from the depths of her bag and tapped the card reader underneath the button panel with it. Almost immediately, the elevator's left wall swung open to reveal a stairway.

Bishop nodded, impressed. "Good placement. Nobody expects the secret entrance of a facility to be in an elevator."

"Don't move!" Saki-chan barked as Bishop prepared to step out. "That one's a trap."

Around half a minute later, the left wall swung back and the right wall swung open to reveal another staircase. Carefully following Saki-chan's lead, we climbed downwards into the murky darkness.

 _The Autumn faction sure is full of surprises..._

"You don't need to worry about your identities being leaked from this hospital," Saki-chan explained as we headed down. "Each patient is confined to one room. One doctor and nurse is assigned to each, and their identities are classified. The remaining research staff live here and have no contact with the outside world. This airtight environment is also the reason why abducting patients is extremely hard, but I suppose you have a plan?"

"Not at all!" declared Bishop. "I figured I'd sneak him out while Satou and his boys kept the staff busy."

"Have fun with that, then," sighed Saki-chan. "But we'll be coming for you right after we settle the mess here, so watch out for that."

Ahhhhh. I was wondering why Saki-chan was okay with Bishop walking in and stealing a patient, but it all made sense now. She wanted to capture him too, and his movement would be slower with Rook's unconscious body to slow him down.

Still, to warn him beforehand... Saki-chan really was a nice person.

We proceeded to a compact hallway, completely empty save for the numerous doors lining its sides. The occasional beep of heart monitors rippled through the stale yet sterile air.

"So!" I said. "How're we gonna do this? Do you have any booby traps, or..."

"None, but I've sent out a call," Saki-chan replied, her face steely. "Reinforcements should be coming in a little while. In the meantime, I guess we'll barricade the stairwell." Cracking the nearest door open, she peered inside. "This one seems to be unoccupied, so help me bring the bed out."

"Yes ma'am! Come on, Bishop... Bishop?"

The dark-haired boy had disappeared. _Dang, here I was thinking we had some sort of free labour..._

In any case, it seemed this was my chance to make myself useful! Saki-chan and I took one end of the bed each and heaved.

"Saki-chan! Since we have time, why don't we talk a bit?"

Her head was hidden from my vision because of the large bed, but I could imagine her expression anyway. "Fine, but no flirting."

"Awwww."

"So, what do you wanna know?"

"The Big Eight, of course! Are Hayato-kun and Shiromeguri-senpai really that great, to be called the leading figures of the Autumn faction?"

"Of course. Very few members have their identities made public knowledge."

The two of us placed the bed down right in front of the stairway. Saki-chan repeated her scouting process on the next room, and the both of us entered to carry another bed. "But what do both of them do?"

"Hayama is the... figurehead of the Big Eight, so to speak. He's managed many important Autumn faction related operations along with his elite squad. Openly. The courage to do stuff like that can't be found anywhere else, so people call him **{Lion's Heart}**."

"His elite squad?"

"I think you know them pretty well."

 _Oh._ "So... everybody in Group S except for me? Even Tobe-kun and Yumiko?"

"Miura's a civilian, I think. Hayama mixed in some normal students to avoid suspicion. You were one of them, I guess. You entered Group S because of someone's recommendation, right?"

We set the second bed on top of the first. Rinse and repeat. "At Yumiko's recommendation, yeah. She said it was cos I was cute or something..."

Of course, Saki-chan wouldn't quite know just how much effort I had put in to give Yumiko that impression. Entering Group S had just been the start of my plans.

But, as it turned out, most of my friends in Group S were elite criminals that performed illegal and backstabby operations regularly.

Cool.

"Meguri-senpai is commonly known as the Big Eight's multi-purpose unit," Saki-chan continued. "She's a prodigy who can supposedly complete any kind of job. Specialisation for certain jobs usually takes a lifetime to cultivate, but she can change her entire skillset in weeks. At least, that's how the rumours go. She never confronts danger head-on, instead choosing to change herself and operate alongside. Hence the nickname **{Parallel Vein}**."

"I see," I said absentmindedly. So all the nicknames had something to do with each member's role and ability. I quickly ran through the list of nicknames in my head. Tarnished Soul, Sixth Finger, Dead Eye...

 _Hmm._

My thoughts drifted to a certain someone I knew. Someone with Dead Eyes. It couldn't be... right?

"Saki-chan, what about **{Dead Eye}**?"

I could sense her confusion from the other side of the bed. "Huh? What's that all of a sudden? Uh... well, **{Dead Eye}** is an assassin. He's been rumoured to have killed all the big-shots who stood in the way of the New Age, so in a sense he paved the way for the revolution like no other. He's a cold-blooded brute who doesn't think twice before killing, and he will stoop to the level of murdering infants _en masse_ if that would boost his chance of success by even a tiny percentage. That's what the rumours say, anyway."

"Oh? You sound like you know a lot about this guy, Saki-chan."

"I hate him," Saki-chan said simply.

 _Hmmmm._

Man, the only information about these guys lay in rumours; they sure were secretive. "Where did his nickname come from, then?"

"Well... he uses firearms, see. And he shoots with-"

Saki-chan's explanation was interrupted by the sudden blare of an alarm.

 _Just when it was getting to the good part... couldn't they wait a little longer?_

Moments later, I heard Satou's muffled voice through the pile of beds: "The ingenious thing about that entrance mechanism, see, is that only a handful of people can access the stairway in intervals of around a minute or so. Therefore we had no choice but to destroy it- oh? A barricade of beds. Lovely!"

We had pushed nine beds against the entrance and had placed one more further down the corridor behind us (for cover, Saki-chan said). Surely that would hold them there until backup came... right?

"Don't even bother trying," Saki-chan shouted. "Reinforcements are arriving shortly and we have prepared for your arrival!"

"I know, dear," chucked Satou, from the other side of the wall of beds. "But _we_ came prepared to deal with an entire army. This is a fairly important section of our operation, after all. Bring it down, gentlemen."

Seconds later, the barricade exploded.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 2135 hours]**

"Squad 5 reporting from Chiba Bank, Ojou-sama! We disregarded the aforementioned set of instructions as a massive armed force of Autumn faction members has entered the bank. We cannot do significant damage to their unit with our numbers!"

I frowned. The Autumn faction using this kind of tactic was not unheard of, but why were they using so many people to raid a fully evacuated establishment?

"Can you report on their activity?"

"Um, they appear to have disappeared into the elevator. We suspect some sort of hidden passageway is in use here."

Ah, so they had some sort of secret passageway. Naturally, this could change the entire course of the battle, depending on the number of locations this passageway led _to_.

"Follow them discreetly. I'm sending backup."

"At your command!"

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2135 hours]**

The shockwave blew me back, and pain jolted my brain into numbness. The searing heat and blinding light was too much for my senses, and for a few terrifying seconds I could only grope around.

Saki-chan... where was she?

When I came to, Satou and a bunch of armed men were right in front of me.

"Ah, could this be the first line of defense?" Satou quipped as he grabbed my arm with an iron grip. His followers sniggered.

Satou's eyes swept across the empty corridor, and landed on the bed that we had placed as cover. "Completely empty, eh? So you really weren't prepared, how wonderful. Or perhaps your friends are waiting for us in ambush behind all those doors? Hospital warfare is the best form of warfare, honestly."

"Don't," I croaked. "The patients here... they've done nothing wrong."

Satou's followers sniggered again.

"Of course I know that, young lady," said Satou. There was a hint of surprise in his voice. "Conversely, we are about to do something very wrong. But that doesn't matter, does it? Not on the grand scale. With that attitude you shouldn't be in the Autumn faction, seriously."

Desperately, I ran all my possible options through in my head. There wasn't a lot, honestly. I was trapped, Saki-chan was missing, and reinforcements were a long way away. These guys were going to kill every single person in this hospital. All I could do...

...was stall for time!

I screamed as loudly as I could and jerked my shoulder out of Satou's grip.

"What the fu-"

"Oi! She's pullin' something off!"

"Pump her full of lead!"

As it turned out, Autumn faction people like to shoot first and read the situation later. Come to think about it, that made sense. In a world where a quick reaction could be the difference between life and death, shooting the moment things seemed dangerous was probably a way of life.

 _Maybe I should have thought this through. I'm sorry, Saki-chan. I could only buy us a few seconds-_

There was a series of short, crisp gunshots. A moment later, the three men who had pulled their rifles out the fastest dropped to the floor.

"Wait, what did she do?"

"Not _her_ , idiot. There are other people here!"

Shocked, I whipped around. _Reinforcements?_

"Continue!" Satou commanded. "This girl needs to die either way."

I could see where the firing was coming from now; from behind the bed that Saki-chan and I had set in the corridor, the barrel of a pistol was peeking out. Another series of six gunshots rang out, and the six men closest to me crumpled like six decks of cards. Somehow, Satou had slipped to the back of the crowd in all the confusion.

"T-that backup is too strong!"

"He's hitting every single target right in the middle of their foreheads! That's insane accuracy!"

"Keep firing!" Satou yelled. "And some of you keep that sniper at bay!"

I flattened myself against the wall as a hail of bullets whizzed past me, peppering the bed and the air above it.

"Take this, you bastard!"

"You may be a good shot, but you can't shoot without exposing your head- ugh!"

Another man was down.

"Wha- but how? We've got him completely pinned- urg!"

"The wall! His bullets are ricocheting off the wall on the other side- gahhh!"

Actually, men were dropping like flies.

The general atmosphere among Satou's friends was not that of a raiding party, but instead that of a fearful group of mice trapped in a corner. In a way, they were.

"Satou-san!" screamed one of the men who had stopped firing out of despair. "It's that guy, isn't it! It can't be anyone else!" A single gunshot rang out, and he was dead as well.

"That guy... that's right! This may be a blessing!" I could hear Satou's annoying voice even though he was all the way at the back. "Cease fire! He's tracing your locations with the sounds of your gunshots!"

"Yeah, but if we're not shooting he can just use his eyes- argh!"

I closed my eyes and took a moment to silently offer my condolences for these poor guys who were dying left and right due to their leader's lack of intelligence. When I opened them, they were all staring at me.

"Wait, she's not dead yet? What are you guys doing?"

 _Oh, right. I should probably run._

I heard a few more gunshots and dying screams as I dashed behind the bed. Sure enough, my mystery saviour was there, wielding a gun and reloading with incredible speed...

"Wait, Saki-chan?!"

"It was a good move you pulled back there," Saki-chan said. Her eyes were set straight ahead. "A few seconds of distraction was all I needed."

"Saki-chan..."

"What's up?"

"You're _so cool_! You should have told me you were good at this kind of thing!"

She sighed, effortlessly firing another volley of bullets. Just how many did she have? "No flirting, I said."

The men resumed fire. We both ducked behind the bed as bullets whizzed past, just above our heads.

"What a big catch!" I heard Satou say from his hiding spot. "To think that our objective has come to us... come, men! Overwhelm him with cover fire and blast him into next week!"

 _...What is this guy talking about?_

Saki-chan's eyes narrowed. Within my limited field of vision, I could roughly see one of the men palm a grenade, and horror struck me.

Saki-chan may be a sharpshooter, but we were trapped behind a flimsy layer of cover and unlike guns, grenades didn't make any noise when being thrown! Going by her pattern of attack, her gun could hold six bullets at a time, but there were more than ten people currently firing at us. It was a hopeless situation.

The grenade sailed across the air. Time seemed to slow...

Calmly, Saki-chan closed her eyes, took a deep breath and fired. _One, two, three, four._ The shooting stopped abruptly; without missing a beat, she rolled over to take aim at the flying projectile and fired. _Five._ The grenade jerked to a stop in midair, sluggishly falling back as if pulled gently by gravity, floating back towards the group of stunned faces.

Saki-chan exhaled. Her fingers tightened-

 _Six._

The grenade exploded.

"Come on," she urged, amidst the yells of confusion and screams of pain. In the orange firelight coming from the end of the corridor, her face did not belong to the Saki-chan I knew. "This is our only chance to get out of here."

Groggily, I picked myself up and stumbled after her as she ran further in.

Six bullets had pulled us out of an impossible situation. Using the wall for rebound, she had shot more than ten people dead, which meant more than one target per bullet. With the fifth shot, she had clipped the grenade to change its path of motion _without_ setting it off somehow, and the sixth had been a straight-on shot to trigger it.

Even I could tell this was no ordinary level of skill.

Not to mention, Satou had seemed so excited, even though his men were dropping left and right... and all that about meeting an objective... the Big Eight?

As we ran past the two endless rows of doors, Saki-chan's words flowed through my mind:

 _He's a cold-blooded brute who doesn't think twice before killing... that's what the rumours say, anyway._

 _I hate him._

 _Well... he uses firearms, see. And he shoots with..._

Dead-eyed accuracy.

 **{Dead Eye, Kawasaki Saki}**

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 29th June, 2145 hours]**

 _Nope, nothing at all._

Exasperated, I plopped onto Yuigahama's bed. It was large and fluffy, just like what you'd expect a typical highschool girl's bed to be. Comfortable as it was, it only served to fill my head with even more confusion.

How could this be? Yuigahama was an ordinary girl with extraordinary ambition. Setting aside the issue of her ideology contradicting her actions, her motives for joining Group S and betraying it to join the Service Club were puzzling. Yet, after a full search of her entire room I had not found a single sliver of evidence that hinted at anything resembling answers. A pink, fluffy bed. Stuffed toy pandas on shelves. A diary full of mind-numbing entries, concealed by a secret compartment in her drawer.

 _She's... just a normal girl, isn't she._

Yes. Much as it damaged my ego, it was high time I considered that possibility. Yuigahama Yui was a normal high school girl who was naturally sociable and popular. For this reason, she had been selected by Hayama to be one of the decoy normal students in Group S. Seeing how Group S lorded over the student population, she had decided it was wrong and hence had decided to join a rebellious organisation to fell the school administration.

 _No. That part doesn't add up._

Say she had a sense of justice, or anything remotely similar, which spurred her to take action. The most sensible (and plausible) way to do it would be to change the system from the _inside_. With her position of authority, surely she could take small actions behind Hayama's back to undermine his authority or decisions. Why go so far to join a club which had no credibility and only two unreliable-looking members? Just what was in the club that made her join?

What was the bait?

My senses tingled, and I instinctively dove under the bed. Seconds later, a messy series of barks punctuated the quiet night air.

"What is it, Sablé?"

Soft footsteps padded up the stairs, then the door opened. The Yuigahama matriarch peered into the room and frowned lightly.

"What is it? Is there something in the room? You're not usually like this."

The source of the barking, a light-brown dachshund, had ceased its fit and was staring at me with a look of abject confusion. Of course, Yuigahama's mother could not see this.

"Hm? Why are the sheets so messy? Didn't I tidy them up this morning...?"

 _Oh, crap!_

Hastily, I made a few hand signs and the daschund ran off barking merrily.

"Ah, wait!"

Swiftly, Yuigahama's mother made her exit. As soon as the door had shut, I hastily crawled out of my hiding place.

Conditioning (rated 5 out of 108) was a skill for dealing with both humans and animals alike. On the days prior to this one, I had secretly made periodic trips to the Yuigahama household, training their watchdog to react in certain ways to certain hand signs. Thankfully, that had come in handy here.

No matter how troublesome it was, if it helped boost my chances of success by even a tiny percentage, it was worth doing.

On a side note, were all dogs this carefree? The way that dachshund barked so happily reminded me of the last time I saw a dog. A dog... also dachshund, come to think of it. And its fur was the exact same shade of light brown. The way it ran across the road was so similar to this one, too...

Dachshund that ran across the road... Komachi... limousine...

Wait.

WAIT

In an instant, I was furiously ploughing through Yuigahama's drawers, cupboards, shelves, everything. Even though I knew I wouldn't find anything. Just to find something, _anything_ that could calm the rising feeling of horror in my heart.

It couldn't be the same dog, right? Right? All dachshunds looked the same, after all. Yeah, that was it. I was just overreacting. Yep.

 _Like hell!_

Frantically, I scrabbled at the fragments of my memory, desperately trying to bring up the face of the dog's owner. She was female, yes. Did she have pink hair? Maybe she did, maybe she didn't...?

No, no. Focus. Remember. Not her face, then. Her personality. Surely there was _some sort_ of trait that could set her aside from others. Please, _please_ just tell me it wasn't Yuigahama.

 _Nothing's coming up. Nothing at all! She apologised a lot, that's all I remember. She had such a generic personality, how would you expect me to remember?! She was around the same age as me, yes. I remember that. But other than that she was just a normal highschool girl..._

 _...oh, God._

Stunned, I lowered myself onto Yuigahama's bed.

Nothing was set in stone. There was no solid evidence that whatever connections I'd just made in my head actually connected. It was a little _too_ coincidental, honestly.

But... with all the stuff I was involved in, coincidences were few and far between. And if it really was that way, it all made _sense_.

My sister had saved her dog from being hit by a car, and had gotten hit in its place. She had followed me to the hospital. Minutes before the Winter faction goons attacked me, she had gone to... the toilet. Yes, the toilet.

And I had cleanly forgotten about this, but what was the sight that awaited her upon her return?

While I was dragging myself over to Kondo-san, before anybody from the Autumn or Winter faction came along to clean up, said Dog Owner had _seen_ the corpses of twenty-odd men in shades and suits, bathed in a sea of blood.

And the boy that had been curled up in the corner had conveniently disappeared.

 _Did I mess up?_

No, wait, wait. I was getting ahead of myself again. Even upon stumbling this kind of scene, the conclusion that an unarmed high school boy had single-handedly killed everybody and escaped was still too fantastic to be true. She probably had assumed that there had been a firefight in the hospital, and that I had been kidnapped for silence.

Yep, all cool. So assuming it was actually Yuigahama, where did that leave us now?

Contrary to her expectation, the boy had turned up in the same school as her a few weeks later. Naturally, this had commanded bafflement and no small amount of curiosity. How had this boy gotten out of that sticky situation? She had probably tried to approach him, which was extremely hard because of the newly-implemented caste system causing conflict between her desire to talk to him and her fear of being ostracized.

A year later, she was in Group S and saw that he had joined a club out of nowhere. She then proceeded to volunteer to inspect the club...

What had her request been, again? Something about baking cookies to show her gratitude to a person for... _helping her out_...

Right under my very own nose, too. Right under!

Sitting on a highschool girl's bed, with serene moonlight drifting in through the window and the soft blare of television coming from downstairs, a dry croak escaped my lips.

"So _I_ was the bait."

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2145 hours]**

The corridor ended with a blank white wall. Without missing a beat, Saki-chan strode into the room closest to the dead end to pick up the patient lying on the bed within. Grunting, she lifted the unconscious, sickly-looking girl onto her shoulder.

"Saki-chan, who's that- wait, Komachi-chan?"

Saki-chan lifted an eyebrow. "You know her?"

"Oh, well, uh..."

Not that I minded telling Saki-chan, but it was a long story. The last time I'd seen Komachi-chan had been outside an operating room, amidst a scene filled with corpses and blood. Back then I had turned tail and run, of course.

Whoever had done all that had somehow left Komachi-chan and Hikki alone, which was still a mystery to me. One that I was going to figure out.

"For starters, is she okay-"

"She's been in a coma for the past year or so now," Saki-chan shot me a glance, trying to guage just how much I knew. "Got into an accident."

"Oh. R-right."

"At any rate, you knowing her makes it easier," Saki-chan huffed, gingerly lifting Komachi-chan's slender form and placing it upon my shoulders. "Carry her out of here. I'll catch up with you later."

The sleeping girl on my shoulders was almost weightless.

Striding back out into the hallway, Saki-chan pressed a palm onto the large wall at the end of the hallway. There was a soft _beep_ , and it soundlessly swung back to reveal another upward-leading staircase. "Go out and hide. We'll carry her back in after I've cleared this place up."

Komachi-chan was Hikki's little sister. Her room was placed right next to the emergency exit of a top-secret hospital. And Saki-chan was putting her safety above all the other important patients in this hospital.

At least three members of the legendary group that had changed society were studying at my school. Saki-chan, a member of this group, was taking effort to save the little girl on my back.

Deep down in my gut, I knew that this was a turning point in the progress of my mission. There were just so many dots that I could connect and so many conclusions I could make. About Hikki, about Komachi-chan, about all my friends, maybe even how they were all connected to Sobu High's mastermind.

But all I thought about in that moment was how Saki-chan trusted me so much to place Komachi-chan in my arms without thinking twice. Even though she was a criminal. Even though she lived alongside backstabbing traitors.

It felt... nice.

I felt my throat tighten, but I forced my words out anyway: "Saki-chan!"

Cocking her pistol, she flicked her faze back. "Yeah?"

"Don't die!"

For the briefest of moments, a smile flashed across her face. "No flirting, I said."

It was the first time I'd seen her smile, come to think of it.

Hefting Komachi-chan's light body up the stairs, I forced myself not to look back.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 2145 hours]**

It was a battleground. Observing the situation safely within my armoured car, I could describe it as such.

Impatiently clicking my tongue, I stared at the huge party of gunmen who currently had my entire squad cornered. Of course, I had expected a welcoming party of sorts when I ordered my squad to move to Chiba Bank, but this was basically an armada. What on earth was going on?

Yashiro-san pulled me back from the window as yet another hail of bullets pelted the vehicle's reinforced surface. "Tempered glass is not unbreakable, Yukino-sama," he chided. As it was, my mood was not so good as to allow me to listen to his unnecessary advice. Ignoring him, I turned to the agent closest to me.

"Intel. Now."

"Y-yes!" he yelped. "U-um, this group is definitely from the Autumn faction, but they don't appear to be from the group that entered the bank earlier. Our guess is that there is an important facility underneath the bank, and that they were sent to protect it."

So we were not their main objective. That made sense; despite amassing such a huge force they had brought no weapons that were effective against our armoured vehicles. The fact that the Autumn faction was having an internal feud was no surprise to me either.

"In that case, drive up and have the whole squad block the entrance to the bank."

"O...ojou-sama?"

" _Do it._ "

"Y-yes!"

The firing intensified as the five armoured vehicles obstructed the entrance, which was reassuring in a sense. Regardless of whether we had a common enemy or not, my mission was to exterminate all those from the Autumn who were planning to disrupt public order. Naturally, I would have to start by preventing them from reaching their objective, whatever it was.

They were trying to overwhelm us with pure firepower. Solid as the reinforcement on each vehicle was, they would eventually be overwhelmed by the sheer number of bullets in the bombardment we were currently caught in. Desperately, my subordinates returned fire to the best of their ability. It was not an unmanageable situation by any definition, but I now had no more manpower to spare. Who, then, was going to take care of the enemy forces inside the bank?

"Yukino-sama."

Was there really no other option?

"Yukino-sama."

Was there _really_ no other option?

"Yukino-sama, this humble-"

"I get it already!" I snapped, wheeling around to glare at Yashiro-san. Somehow, given the cramped space inside the vehicle, he was executing a perfect ninety-degree bow. "But I've told you time and time again, Yashiro-san, that I don't need your help!"

"Your esteemed mother allowed me to assist you where combat is concerned. Enlisting my help here shouldn't be a problem, should it?" He returned my glare with a perfectly blank stare, and I found myself looking into a pair of emotionless grey irises. Really, I could never tell what he was thinking.

Whether my mother allowed it was not the problem, of course. This was a test to determine my aptitude as a leader and strategian, and being forced to use the Yukinoshita family's trump card would no doubt reflect badly on my performance.

Getting Yashiro-san to clear out a single facility was like breaking an egg with a hammer. This was the monster who had once wiped six Yakuza bases off the map with his bare hands for spreading slanderous information about my Father to the media. In a single day.

"Yukino-sama. I understand that we have our differences, but our objectives do align here. To the very end, this humble servant asserts that he only wants to be of use to you."

Even now, he was playing to my emotional weakness. How unfair. Though, I supposed, at the root of our relationship lay my trust in Yashiro-san to have my back. There was no harm in allowing myself to be deceived, was there?

...In the first place, I did not have much of a choice.

"Fine," I sighed. "Go for it."

Yashiro-san beamed. It was an extremely annoying smile that completely contrasted his usual stoic expression. For some reason, however, I could not muster any irritation in response.

"I will not disappoint you, Yukino-sama. I shall be out in less than twenty minutes."

"I expect no less from you. Go on, then."

Sighing, I turned back to my laptop. I had an operation to manage and two schoolmates to find; now that this location was practically secured, all that was left was-

"Yukino-sama."

My fingers resumed their furious typing. "Yes?"

"...You really have grown."

 _He's still at it?_ Internally, I rolled my eyes. "I do not recall doing anything to merit your respect, Yashiro-san."

A pregnant pause.

The voice that broke this silence was not that of a calculating old man or a seasoned killer. It was... quavering. Hesitant. Raw with emotion. Whatever it was, I could not quite describe it, and it was this uncertainty that made my mouth dry abruptly.

"Call it... a father's intuition, Yukino-sama."

A sarcastic retort about Yashiro-san's bachelorhood stopped short on its way up my throat. Something in me had realised, even faster than my brain, that I would have regretted making that joke.

...I had never heard him sound like this before.

I stayed in this dumbfounded state for what felt like quite a while, staring blankly at the blips on my laptop screen and daring myself to look back. In that moment, if I tilted my head backwards just a little, what kind of expression would I see on Yashiro-san's face?

When I finally turned around, he was gone.

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2200 hours]**

Saki-chan stumbled out of the hospital's hidden back exit. Despite what had happened in the past fifteen minutes, her uniform blazer was completely unwrinkled. Even though her schoolbag was holding a weapon that had most likely ended the lives of twenty-plus people, it was casually slung over her shoulder, just like she was walking out of class. As the stench of iron wafted out of the hole in the wall that she exited from, I could not even see a hint of blood on her clothes.

 _So that's what the Big Eight is like._ Scary efficient. Without realising it, a shiver had gone down my spine.

"Good work," she huffed as I wordlessly handed Komachi-chan over to her. "I got distracted and let Satou and a couple of his goons get away, but other than that I got the job done."

The most amazing thing, I realised, was how _okay_ I was with this whole thing. I was by no means an angel, but helping a trained killer like this was on a whole new level. Even if the trained killer was Saki-chan.

In the first place, Saki-chan didn't need any of my help, did she?

Sure, I had agreed to help out because I wanted a clearer picture of what had been going around me all this while. About Hayato-kun, Meguri-senpai and even Hikki. But this... this picture was way too clear. And now I was in the thick of it.

 _Is this... really okay?_

"Alright," Saki-chan grunted, repositioning her school bag into a more comfortable position. She looked so... relaxed, even more so than usual. "I'll have to ask you to hold on to her for a little while longer, actually. As troublesome as it is, I need to finish the job properly."

It took me a second to process her words. "Saki-chan, you can't mean-"

"I'm following them to finish them off, yes."

I held onto Komachi-chan's unconscious body just a bit more tightly.

"T-that's not really needed, right? You chased them out of the hospital, and-"

"What are you talking about?" Saki-chan's expression was one of sincere confusion, almost as if she wasn't talking about killing a bunch of people in cold blood. "They've seen our faces. Aren't you worried that your life will be targeted after this?"

I knew that. I knew what I had signed up for, when I chose Sobu High as my high school and got into Group S and joined the Service Club and agreed to help Saki-chan. I knew I was always going to be the shallow figure, the one who just floated around doing her own thing. I knew I was going to have to get my hands dirty. I knew that, but still...

Still...!

"It's not like I don't understand how you feel," Saki-chan continued, "but some things just need to be done. It's not an issue of morals or whatnot."

"...no."

"No?"

Steadily, I stared straight into Saki-chan's eyes. "I'm not helping you anymore, Saki-chan. It may have been different back there when it was self defense, but killing people is wrong."

She looked frustrated. "Look, Yuigahama. Like I said, the issue isn't whether it's right or not-"

"It is to me," I said. "And I'm not blind enough to think that I know everything that's going on, or even that I'm completely right. But these are my values, and I'm sticking by them. If you're going to do stuff like this, I can't stand by you anymore."

It wasn't that I was angry or disgusted at Saki-chan. It really wasn't. But different people made different choices. I wasn't going to pretend I knew what she was going through, but this was the life she had picked. And in the same way I would follow my own set of values, however flimsy they were.

We stayed in that position for a while.

Finally, she looked away. "...Fine. I can see why you'd want to part ways. You should've done it sooner, honestly. Hand her over to me, then."

I paused. "You're going to carry her into enemy territory?"

"What choice do I have? I can't just _leave_ her here. Anyway, you've seen my skills. She'll be just fine, even if she is in the middle of a bullet storm."

I looked everywhere but at Saki-chan's face. Somehow I just knew that if I did, I would see an expression of finely concealed sadness. And somehow I also knew that seeing that face would cause my already jumbled emotions to overflow.

It wasn't fair. Why did I have to be the one to notice these things? Why did I have to be the soft one? Why did I have to feel like the bad guy, especially in this situation?

Komachi-chan's limp body felt like a doll in my hands. My ticket to freedom. Hand her over, go home, wash up, sleep. It was so funny I wanted to cry.

Forget doing what was right, I didn't even know what I wanted to do. I was supposed to trust that all people had some good in them. But even with Saki-chan, with all her sweet and loveable sides that I had just seen, I was having so much trouble believing in her. All those times I had convinced myself that I was on the right track, even that time on the tennis court when I forced my ideals on Hayato-kun... I was just a big hypocrite, in the end.

Maybe, just maybe, I had been jealous of Hikki and Yukinon all along. Of how they could do what they thought was right without flinching, not caring about what others thought. Of how they knew what they wanted to do, even if wanting it meant making the whole world their enemy.

 _The two of them... what would they do?_

I hugged the unconscious Komachi-chan closer. "...I changed my mind."

"You're coming?"

"Yes," I said. "Because someone needs to tell you that what you're doing is wrong."

"...You told me that already."

"Well, someone needs to tell you that multiple times!" With great difficulty, I hefted Komachi-chan's body onto my back. She was as light as feather, but I was the kind of girl who only did weight lifting with my handphone. "Lemme warn you first: I'm gonna stop you, no matter what it takes."

"...Alright."

Wordlessly, we set off.

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2230 hours]**

My breathing was nice and stable. My shoulders were fine. And most importantly, my legs were not in pain at all.

Not... at all...

"Want me to carry her?"

"No," I wheezed. "You'll just run off without me if I do!"

Saki-chan looked hurt when I said that, but only slightly. "If I wanted to do that sort of thing I would've done so a long while back. Can you speed up a bit? At this rate they'll have gone home by the time we reach."

"Definitely... gonna... stop you..."

"I don't get why you're going through all this trouble, really. Especially for someone like me."

 _Me neither_.

"You're causing me quite a bit of trouble, actually. I've never exactly done any face reveals these few years, but you kinda ruined that in one night."

 _I was doing what I thought was right. And I will continue to do just that._

"Also, you know too much now. I might have to erase you after all this, you know?"

 _Maybe I'm a hypocrite. Probably. Just a couple minutes ago I was looking down on you for the life you chose, Saki-chan. But I think something in me still feels that you're worth the effort._

 _...Wait. Didn't she say something really scary just now?_

But sometimes actions speak louder than words. Propping Komachi-chan's limp form up until I could feel her faint breaths on my cheek, I picked up the pace.

"...I see," sighed Saki-chan. "I don't know a thing about you, Yuigahama. For a normal civilian to do stuff like this, you're just... just... weird. Yeah, you're weird. That's what you are."

Going by the way she phrased this, she was treating it like a conclusion rather than a passing remark. This meant that nothing I said at this point would change her mind, which was slightly annoying. But maybe she was right.

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2245 hours]**

The air around the warehouse reeked of blood and sweat. They may as well have painted a skull on the door or revealed their location on social media. It was amazing how the police hadn't found this area yet. Or perhaps they didn't want to? Anyway it was horrible, seeing what society really was like beneath the surface.

Saki-chan followed me into the dark corner behind the warehouse which we had hid in earlier, but I kept my eyes on her anyway; there was no telling when she would make her move, but when she did, I had to be ready to stop her.

How to stop her was another question altogether, though. If worse came to worst...

I glanced at the sleeping girl in my hands.

I did not want to do this. I didn't want to betray Saki-chan and Hikki's trust in me, and I _really_ didn't want to reach a new low by using innocent people as hostages. But it seemed to be the only option.

 _Or, maybe I could tackle Saki-chan in a bear hug before she moves and use the chance to feel her up. Hmmm..._

A nudge from Saki-chan's elbow drove all lewd thoughts from my mind. Satou had stood up in a clear call for attention.

"My fellow brethren! How are you faring?"

A couple of unsatisfied-sounding murmurs along the lines of "yeah, just _peachy_ " drifted from the crowd and reached my ears. The raid on a whole hadn't gone very well.

"As expected," continued Satou who just couldn't be put down, "the first wave of invasion has borne little fruit! However, fret not! As per the guidance of **{Moral Compass}** , our campaign has just begun! From this point until dawn tomorrow, the second shift shall take charge!"

 _Wait. Just begun? Second shift?_

"Look," Saki-chan murmured. "To the left."

On the left side of the warehouse stood a group of militants. Unlike their ragged counterparts that filled the rest of the warehouse, these were squeaky clean and completely prepped for war.

"It's a well-known war strategy," Saki-chan whispered. "He split the entire group into two so that they could take turns to invade."

I nodded mutely. It was the exact strategy that the Winter Faction troops had used to attack the warehouse earlier, only on a larger scale. Just how far were they willing to go...

More importantly, how far were _we_ willing to go?

I tugged on Saki-chan's sleeve.

"We don't have to wipe them out, right? We can just go in there and hold Satou at gunpoint or something. I'm sure they'll listen-"

"And expose our faces for everyone to remember?" she snorted. "Just face it, Yuigahama. We'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

Inside the warehouse, Satou was giving a rousing speech to his men. I vaguely caught a point about ideals and how only strength can change the world.

"We can always hide our faces," I offered desperately. "Look, I have a few paper bags in my schoolbag-"

"Are you retarded?!" Saki-chan whisper-shouted. "What, you think this is some manga where a bunch of masked vigilantes save the world? These aren't comic book villains. They won't _listen_ to anything you say!"

"It's worth a try!" I shot back. "Look, I'm sure you don't want to kill either-"

"Take this seriously, Yuigahama!" Saki-chan grabbed both my shoulders and hissed straight into my face. "It's them or us, do you understand? Villains or not, they die or we do! That's just the way this world works!"

" _Well, I hate it!_ "

Satou's speech stopped abruptly. There was a general craning of necks in our direction.

Well, if we'd been noticed anyway... "I _know_ that's the way things are, and I don't _like_ it!" I shouted hotly into Saki-chan's stunned face. "Everywhere! In school, in society, in the criminal underworld! Why do people have to act this way when they are capable of being kind? Because _everyone else is doing it,_ that's why!"

"And more so than the people who _do stupid stuff like this_ ," I continued, jabbing a finger through the hole in the wooden wall and ignoring the timid noises of protest that followed, "it's the people who just _stand there_ and _don't do a single thing to change it_ that make it _worse_! The people who take the easy way out! The people like _you_!"

Saki-chan glared at me, but her heart wasn't in it.

"People always come up with excuses. Why does it have to start with me, what could I possibly do to change society, I'm just a normal guy, all _kinds_ of nonsense. A society is _made_ of people! Of normal guys! If enough people do it, society is doing it! And if it doesn't start with _everybody_ , then it has to start with _somebody_. And that _somebody_ is gonna be me, and if I can damn well help it that _somebody_ is gonna be you!"

I bent double and wheezed. An awkward smattering of applause travelled from within the warehouse.

"Er, jolly good," said Satou, sounding a bit unsure of himself. "We still have to kill you, though."

There was a mass clicking of firearms.

I stared triumphantly at Saki-chan. I was going to die in less than ten seconds, but after that massive outpouring of emotion, I was amazed at how little I cared. "That's right. The moment they start shooting they'll hit Komachi-chan over here. Unless you can stop them all at once?"

Saki-chan sighed.

"Let's try things my way, Saki-chan."

"Yuigahama... I'm sorry."

A stone settled at the bottom of my gut. Something wasn't right.

"Saki-chan? You never... planned to raid them from the start?"

"No," she replied, looking away. "I'm here under orders. To confirm their deaths."

 _Which means... any convincing I did on her wouldn't have worked...?_

"I'm sorry, Yuigahama. But this is something that even you can't change. I... really hoped it could be that simple."

Hastily, I glanced around. There weren't any vehicles or people in sight. Just how...

"Alright," declared Satou. "For the glory of our operation, we will put you to death!"

Saki-chan wordlessly picked up Komachi-chan's sleeping body and placed it behind hers, away from the warehouse. Shielding her from the bullets? No...

Orders from above? Who could possibly...

 _Oh._

"Get out of that warehouse!" I screamed, pounding the wall. "Your leader or trusted ally or whatever! He's tricked you!"

"Begging for your life would have been less tasteless, my dear," sighed Satou. "Now, on my mark, fire at wi-"

"Do you _really_ want those to be your last words?!" I shrieked. My voice was cracking under the tremendous pressure, but the rising tension in my stomach was greater. "Calling a girl you don't even know 'my dear'? Hurry up and _get out_!"

"Of course not," snapped Satou. "I decided on that a long time ago. My last words will be something cool-sounding about my late wife-"

"Ten seconds to Eleven," Saki-chan said to the world in general. "Yuigahama, you should step back too."

My mind a blur, I sprinted over to the door of the warehouse. Through the corner of my eye I saw Saki-chan dive for my side, then felt the impact that threw me off my feet and into the grass.

The warehouse exploded.

 **[Hikigaya Hachiman, 29th June, 2305 hours]**

The curtains were drawn, leaving just enough space for a sliver of light from adjacent streetlights to penetrate the thick darkness in my room. I lay comfortably in my bed facing the door, body concealed by sheets and shadows. Exactly three and a half metres away, a desktop computer hummed in a noncommittal fashion.

The time now was five minutes past eleven. My bedroom had no need for a clock, as the crows that hung around the power cables outside every night screeched in precise twenty-second intervals. I had spent one entire evening patiently ensuring that this should be so.

I was alone with my thoughts.

So, Yuigahama had feelings for me. Not necessarily romantic feeling, but definitely fascination. And a sense of guilty obligation for getting Komachi involved in the accident. The rest, I supposed, was hormonal.

Upon reflection, this did not make too much of a difference. I had been careful in covering my tracks, and an airhead like Yuigahama probably wouldn't be able to join the dots even if Kawasaki had shoved a mountain of evidence right in her face. Even if she did, I could always use her feelings as leverage, though that would be a last-ditch resort. Manipulating emotions was as natural as breathing to me and amorous feelings were the easiest to toy with, but this was the first time such feelings were being directed at myself. In short, it was a pain.

I had shaken Yukinoshita off my trail and had conducted an investigation into Yuigahama's background that had turned out to be fruitless. Was there no victory awaiting me at the end of this long day of tireless labour?

My cell phone vibrated. It was a text from Kawasaki.

" _Your jailbait is safe._ "

I frowned.

" _My what_ "

" _The shrimp. Bringing her to my house_ "

" _Ok thx I'll pick her up tmr"_

" _Also, detonation successful. Zero survivors._ "

" _Gr8. I'll hear ur full report soon._ "

A caw from outside my window indicated that it was seven minutes past eleven on the dot. Tossing my phone aside, I snuggled into my bed's covers, allowing the inky blackness of night to conceal all traces of my presence. Against my subconscious will, a smile of considerable proportion and oozing with malice crept onto my face.

...Well, I suppose this counted as a _small_ victory.

 **{Moral Compass, Hikigaya Hachiman}**

 **[Yuigahama Yui, 29th June, 2315 hours]**

When I came to I was surrounded by warmth. There was orange firelight coming from my left, so I supposed the warehouse was still burning. The stench of burning wood and flesh filled the air... or rather it should have, but my nose was filled with the aroma of shampoo. Saki-chan sat stock still with my head on her lap, strands of bluish-white hair hiding her expression from my blurry vision.

We stayed in this position for quite a while.

"Saki-chan..."

"Myeah?"

"You look like crap."

A finger delicately traced my brow, brushing off something that felt like grime. "So do you."

We fell silent. Somewhere nearby, the remains of the warehouse crackled.

"Your thighs feel really nice, actually. What's your diet like?"

"Same as yours, more or less. I think the key is exercise."

"Oh."

A hundred bodies or so were burning in there somewhere. The thought made my skin break out into goosebumps. Or perhaps it was just the chilly night air?

"Um, you know..."

I started. How often did Saki-chan start a conversation with me? Not very often, that was for sure.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. I know our views don't match and all that, but seeing you try so hard to save those guys was... well. It really got me thinking about what you said."

I blinked. "About changing society and whatnot?"

She nodded. The white wisps of hair framing her face bobbed along, but my vision was still too blurred for me to catch her expression: I must have hit my head. "Yeah. Maybe I just haven't been trying hard enough, yknow? To change this shitty situation. I'm sorry for what I said, Yuigahama. And I'm sorry for everything you saw today."

I stared blankly into the night sky. The Yuigahama Yui that everyone knew was a pushover who hated conflict and was always quick to apologise, but I didn't want to pretend in front of Saki-chan. I didn't see anything to apologise for, so I didn't.

The shock and desperation from just minutes ago had already drained away, like a childhood memory that I would never get back. Sure, I had gotten all angry at Saki-chan and had preached all that stuff, but right now I just wanted to tell her not to worry about it. Everything: the bodies burning a few metres away, the people who had died at our hands, the civilians we could have saved... I had forgotten them all.

That was just the kind of horrible person I was.

I blinked. My vision was clearing now. "By the way. Why did you save me, Saki-chan?"

"Huh?"

"I've been nothing but trouble to you. I'm sure nobody would be too mad at you for letting me die after doing something so stupid. In the end I was just a dumb girl trying to live by a naive set of values, and those values would have killed me. Why did you risk your life to... to... Saki-chan?"

A drop of rain had landed on my cheek, but the sky was clear.

"I... I don't know," Saki-chan said, her voice cracking slightly. "Maybe I should have, right? I mean, the Autumn faction would be pretty hopeless without me. And I'm sure you wouldn't have minded either. I've always gone with the flow, after all. You'd probably wait for me in the afterlife just to say 'I told you so' or something..."

The drop had led to a light drizzle. Saki-chan's voice crackled like lightning, her hidden expression like a dark cloud threatening to overflow.

"...but even so!"

My vision sharpened, and I took a sharp breath. Saki-chan's face had come into focus...

"Even so, I just couldn't let you _die_!" she choked.

The downpour began.

Stunned, I lifted a hand and pressed it against her face, feeling the tears roll down my fingers and drip onto my blazer. They looked like gemstones, the way they reflected the amber light.

Saki-chan's crying face was not, by any stretch of the word, beautiful. Her sobs sounded pretty unnatural too. Not cute at all. And her emotion was so raw. Did she not feel embarrassed?

My eyes stung. Trailing down my already-wet face were two trails of hot tears. I must have hit my head _really_ hard.

 _Ah._

A certain feeling welled up in my chest. More than the anger towards my own hypocrisy, or the fear for my life, or the uncertainty at my actions. Because more importantly than what that had happened today and was going to happen tomorrow, I remembered exactly why I was doing all this.

Underneath everything, this girl was a really, really kind person.

 **[Yukinoshita Yukino, 29th June, 2350 hours]**

The Yukinoshita family's butler had been in lack of a family name for as long as I'd known. To me, Yashiro-san was Yashiro-san. For the most part my family had felt the same way, which was why my father had offered for Yashiro-san to use the Yukinoshita name. He had basically been family, after all.

"...Ojou-sama. We're ready to leave."

Family. A father figure. A mentor.

An indestructible force.

To express myself in words in this moment was simply impossible. My hands felt... cold.

"Ojou-sama."

Yukinoshita Yashiro lay on the backseat of the combat vehicle. Except that it was not Yukinoshita Yashiro anymore, but a piece of meat shaped like Yukinoshita Yashiro. My brain was still processing this massive contrast.

Right in the centre of his forehead, a bullet was embedded. Death had been instant.

I stared.

"He... wasn't taken by surprise, Ojou-sama," said the agent beside me, in a pitiful attempt at consolation. "Yashiro-san would never have lost to a sneak attack. This was done by somebody with considerable skill."

I considered opening my mouth to tell the lackey that he was fired, but couldn't. My mouth was apparently glued shut. Like my fists. My throat. My everything.

I knew that this was the moment for the heir of the Winter Faction to say something appropriate. A pseudo-eulogy, perhaps. Or maybe something simpler like "Rest in peace". Even shedding a few tears would be acceptable.

But.

Wordlessly, I got into the vehicle. Taking the hint, my subordinate started the engine.

"You're... pretty calm about this, Ojou-sama. As expected of the... uh... oh."

I did not answer.

"Do you... need a handkerchief?"

I did not answer. He fumbled around in his pocket.

"Here you go. Um, if you permit me to speak freely, Ojou-sama..."

I swiped at my face, but did not answer.

"We're all as lost as you are without him. He was a great leader. That's why... we'll help you."

I did not answer.

"You're going to avenge him, right? Yukino-sama."

I did not answer. There was no need.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okayyyyyy I know how you're feeling, but if you lynch me now you're never going to see the end of this story, right? No hard feelings, right?**

 **As a token of my apology, please accept this chapter. It's pretty much twice the size of the previous ones. I wanted to split it into two parts but I couldn't quite find a place to cut it. Next chapter will take less than half a year...** hopefully.


End file.
